On January 30th, the New York Islanders acquired Bo Horvat for a few pieces that included Forwards Anthony Beauvillier and Aatu Raty.

A week later, he was signed to an 8 year contract extension that pays 8.5 million per season, therefore Islander fans expect him to score like he was before he was acquired.

So far, the Bo Horvat experience has not been as good as people were expecting on the Island.

To start off his Islander tenure, Bo had three goals in his first four games and had instant chemistry with fellow star Mathew Barzal. Since the latter has gotten injured on February 18th, the production has not been nearly the same as he has had 6 points in 17 games, which is not cutting it to say the least.

However, I do not think we as Islander fans should be concerned for the future for a few reasons.

Other than scoring, Bo has done mostly everything else right for the Islanders while having a 58.7 FO% which is crucial for an elite center and he is generating the most even strength chances on the team and has strung on some bad luck with only having a 7.5 Shooting % which is down from the 21.7 Shooting % he had with Vancouver.

Another important element is that he is playing next to a net front presence guy in Anders Lee and on his other wing he has not had a sustainable lineman with Barzal out. The Islanders have been rotating youngster Simon Holmstrom, Josh Bailey, Cal Clutterbuck and sometimes Hudson Fasching which is not the best fit next to Bo Horvat.

Once Mathew Barzal is back healthy and playing, we should see more of the Bo Horvat we saw in early February and the production will be there and will help the Islanders in their push for the playoffs.

What do you guys think about Bo Horvat’s recent stretch?

Thanks for reading!