Salary Cap Projections Update For Next Season Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTk1NTM3NTU0NTYzNDA4OTQ3/usatsi_19720399.jpg] We have our first blockbuster of the season. The Vancouver Canucks got their fire sale started early this season, trading team captain Bo Horvat to the New York Islanders for a package that features forward Anthony Beauvillier, prospect Aatu Raty, and a protected first-round pick in the 2023 NHL draft. According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, the first-round pick heading to Vancouver is top-12 protected and will slide to the 2024 draft if need be. What a way to kick off the all-star break. The Canucks managed to at least get some useful assets in return for their captain, who's in the final year of his contract and is set to hit unrestricted free agency this summer, trading him out of the conference to the polar opposite coast. Horvat is in the midst of a career year at the moment, having racked up an astounding 31 goals and 23 assists for 54 points in 49 games this season while logging nearly 21 minutes in nightly ice time. The Islanders, who are among the more offensively-challenged teams in the NHL, now get the top-six scorer they've needed for quite some time, adding one of the most beloved locker room presences in the league, as well. Heading to Vancouver, on the other hand, is a collection future assets that could pay off down the line. Beauvillier is the lone NHL-ready player of the bunch, having been a big-league mainstay for the Islanders over the past seven years. The 25-year-old is a competent middle-six winger who has scored a little under a half-point-per-game throughout his career. This season has seen Beauvillier chug right along at that pace as well, with the former first-rounder set to arrive in Vancouver with a 2022-23 stat line of nine goals and 11 assists for 20 points in 49 games, which puts him on track to come in just under his career-high total of 39. Raty is seemingly the most tantalizing of the bunch thanks to his size and skill set. The 20-year-old center measures in at 6-foot-2 with a frame to match, currently sitting with seven goals and eight assists for 15 points in 27 games for the AHL's Bridgeport Islanders. There are still concerns over Raty's skating and ability to handle the pace of the NHL. But, make no mistake, this is a promising prospect. With the Islanders currently on the outside of the playoff picture, Horvat's arrival could not have come at a better time.
