Bo Horvat is out of the World Championships. The Islanders forward suffered a lower-body injury and exited Team Canada’s shootout loss to Finland on Monday. It was Canada’s first defeat of the tournament.
Horvat had four goals and four assists in six games for Canada. Subsequently, Horvat will return to Long Island and see the Islanders team doctors. He missed just one game for the Islanders this season. The 30-year-old had 28 goals and 29 assists in 81 games.
Scouts’ eyes on Martone
Due to Horvat’s tourney-ending injury, Team Canada named Porter Martone to the squad. Martone is projected to be taken in the top five of next month’s NHL Draft.
Islanders suffering injuries in international competition is nothing new. Former Islanders Captain John Tavares suffered a torn medial collateral ligament and meniscus in his left knee during the 2014 Winter Olympics. He missed the rest of the regular season.
The severity of Horvat’s injury will have major implications on New York’s offseason plans.
It has been just under a month since the Islanders announced that Lou Lamoriello’s contact would not be renewed. The position could finally be filled soon.
It appears that the search for the Islanders vacant general manager job is down to two candidates. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli and The Hockey News’ Stefen Rosner have reported that Marc Bergevin and Mathieu Darche have completed their second round of interviews.
Bergevin, former Montreal Canadiens GM turned special advisor for the Los Angeles Kings has the advantage in terms of experience over Darche, who is the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Assistant General Maanger and Director of Hockey Operations.
If it ends up being either of the two, it would be just for the general manager position, not for president of hockey operations. The Islanders will likely fill the GM role before the president of hockey operations position.
