Islanders Name Bo Horvat As Captain

The New York Islanders have announced that the team has named Bo Horvat the 16th captain in franchise history.

Having originally been selected by the Canucks ninth overall in the 2013 NHL Draft, this is the second team Horvat has worn the ‘C’ with his first iteration being the 14th captain of Vancouver from 2019-2023 before being traded to the Islanders on January 30, 2023. He’s served as an Islanders alternate captain each of the last two seasons.

This year would have marked their first year without a captain since the 1996-97 season, when Patrick Flatley left the team; that was 30-years-ago. (Also, the case for half a season after the Islanders traded Bill Guerin away in 2008-09). They were entering that same uncertainty heading into this upcoming season with the departure of Anders Lee, who left in free agency, signing with the Utah Mammoth.

They had a few options, and according to Dave McCarthy on NHL.com, who spoke with Isles GM Mathieu Darche, they were set to have their next leader before the team opens the season on Sept. 30.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we do, (but) there’s no rush on that front. We have a lot of leaders on our team. We have former captains, so I’m not worried about the leadership on our team, that’s for sure,” Darche said via the article.

The Islanders had the luxury of choosing between two recent past captains Brayden Schenn, a former C in St. Louis and Horvat. The Islanders took big swings in bringing over both the former Blues and Canucks captains in package deals that included first-round picks and players. The difference between the two is the term they’re signed to in the organization’s books. Horvat, shortly after his trade, signed an eight-year, $68MM ($8.5MM AAV) contract that is entering its fourth season with New York. Schenn, however, doesn’t boast the time spent on Long Island in the organization like Horvat has, only carrying two years left at a $6.5MM AAV.

Matthew Schaefer, who took the Islanders’ blue line by storm, was also in the mix for this honor. Although signs point to him as a tenured Islander as of right now, he’s still young and on an entry-level contract. Although the very personable and outgoing Schaefer has demonstrated extremely mature qualities at such a young age, his play also heightens his case for being a leader in the future on Long Island, regardless.

It was most likely that Horvat would get the captaincy based on his previously mentioned intangibles.