"A lot of it had to do with culture, organization," Horvat said. "I think they can win right now. They have a great core group of guys here that know what it takes to win, and I can't wait to be part of that here for eight more years."
Horvat's contract comes on his first day of practice with the Islanders and less than a week after the 27-year-old center was acquired in a trade with the Vancouver Canucks for forwards Anthony Beauvillier and
Aatu Raty
, and a conditional first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft on Jan. 30.
"Whenever you make a transaction like that, the intent is to certainly sign him]
Horvat, who was named to the 2023 NHL All-Star Game, has 54 points (31 goals, 23 assists) in 50 games this season.
In practice Sunday, he skated on the top line with Mathew Barzal and Josh Bailey, and also worked in the bumper position on the first power-play unit for New York, which is last in the NHL on the man-advantage this season (15.5 percent).
"His experience in the dot, he's really good on face-offs, so he's going to be a huge asset for us [on the power play]," Islanders captain Anders Lee said. "Obviously, we could use a little bit of a jump in that area right now, and I think he's going to bring that."
The Islanders won their first game with Horvat on Monday, 2-1 at the Philadelphia Flyers. Horvat was held without a point but had four shots on goal in 19:08 of ice time. He won 7 of 13 face-offs.
"I'm hoping it clicks straight away," Barzal said. "If it doesn't, it's just going to be a work in progress. We're obviously going to have some time together, both being here for the next eight years (Barzal signed an eight-year contract on Oct. 4). Hopefully we can kick this thing off right tomorrow in Philly and just go from there."
New York (26-22-5) is currently in sixth place in the Metropolitan Division but moved into a tie with the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference after Monday's win.
"Playing meaningful hockey down the stretch here is really exciting for me," Horvat said. "To be in the fight and try to push for a playoff spot, I haven't been in that position a lot in my career (two postseason appearances in first eight seasons), and to get that opportunity, I want to try and make the most of it here."
Selected by Vancouver with the No. 9 pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, Horvat has 420 points (201 goals, 219 assists) in 622 regular-season games, and 16 points (11 goals, five assists) in 23 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
"His pedigree as a player is extremely strong," Lee said.
"He's going to help everybody. He's got [leadership] under his belt (as captain of the Canucks). He's been in this position before, knows how to lead a team and lead by example. He plays extremely hard every night, he's always been a tough matchup for us on the other side, so it'll be good that he's with us now."
Photo courtesy: New York Islanders*
