The cat is out of the bag: the Vancouver Canucks need help at the center position, and they need it quickly. In two consecutive seasons, they've lost J.T. Miller and their former captain, Bo Horvat, to trades.
It's left them with a hobbled Elias Pettersson and Filip Chytil, a talented former first-round pick who could very well be one concussion away from retirement.
Fortunately for the Canucks, Horvat's New York Islanders are closer to blowing up the entire operation than competing for a Stanley Cup, which could force new GM Mathieu Darche to start exploring trades this summer and begin making the hard decisions.
For example, key players not under for contract next season include Maxim Tsyplakov, Simon Holmstrom, Kyle Palmieri, Marc Gatcomb, Alex Romanov, Adam Boqvist, and Noah Dobson.
The Islanders have just four defenceman signed for 2025-26, and three of them are 30 years old or older. New York also possesses the first overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, and whoever they select more than likely won't debut for at least another year, if not longer.
Horvat, 30, is signed until 2031, when he'll be 36 years old. That's a long time to be signed at an $8.5 million cap hit, to be sure, but the Canucks won't find many other options who are better in what will be a white-hot trade market this summer.
With 61 goals and 125 points with the Islanders over the last two seasons, Horvat is still on top of his game and producing at a high level. In fact, these last two seasons have been two of the most productive seasons of his career.
The former Canucks captain has a full no-trade clause in his contract until the 2027 offseason, so any return to Vancouver will have to go through him. But he should be willing... at least, if he was smart.
The Islanders are not likely to be competitive again anytime soon, and an incoming GM in Darche has no ties to any of the players he's inheriting. If Darche wants to build an NHL roster in his own vision, he'll quickly offload veteran players like Horvat to rake in as much trade value as possible before they get older.
The Canucks are frantically trying to remain competitive, so a desperate swoop for Horvat makes sense for them. It means less pressure on the shoulders of players like Pettersson, Chytil, and Quinn Hughes.
As for a potential trade package, the Canucks have first-round picks in each of the next three drafts and have their second-round picks in each of the next two. Ironically, the Islanders would probably love to get a prospect like Aatu Raty back, but that wouldn't happen... would it?
The Canucks currently have $14.156 million in cap space, so taking on Horvat's full salary leaves them some breathing room to re-sign a player like Pius Suter if so desired. It also virtually guarantees Brock Boeser's departure in free agency.
A Horvat return via trade seems like a farfetched fantasy, but from a hockey perspective, it makes sense for both the Canucks and the Islanders. And even then, the Canucks will be left with a lot of work to do to clean up around the edges.