Horvat Through Bortuzzo, Islanders GM Lamoriello Fills Organizational Needs

EAST MEADOW, NY -- This summer, New York Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello brought everyone back, adding a few depth players and picking up a few others this season, given the Islanders' banged-up blue line. 

After a shaky start, the Islanders are 13-7-7 and sit second in the Metropolitan Division, just six points behind the New York Rangers. 

It's safe to say Lamoriello's decision to not break up his team along with who he's added have paid dividends. 

From the acquisition of Bo Horvat last year to the latest trade for Robert Bortuzzo, here's the latest Lamoriello moves and how they've panned out thus far. 

Lamoriello didn't wait until the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline to bring in one of the top pending unrestricted free agents. 

So, during All-Star Week, he acquired Bo Horvat from the Vancouver Canucks, in exchange for top prospect Aatu Räty, veteran Anthony Beauvillier and a 2023 conditional first-round pick.

"I knew I had to shave," Horvat joked about his initial thoughts of playing under Lamoriello. "He's so well respected around the hockey community and around the game that everybody respects him so much. He's an honest person who treated players with a lot of respect and was very loyal.

"He obviously knows a lot about the game and has had a lot of success here. I only met him maybe at the combine and the draft, and stuff like that, a couple of times, but just being around him, he's a really good person and somebody who you want to play hard for."

Before Horvat could play a game for New York, he and the Islanders came to terms on an eight-year extension worth $68 million ($8.5 M AAV). 

"We've got a player of this caliber who brings it every night and is a 200-foot player," Lamoriello said after signing the former Canucks captain. "There's no question he'll be an asset to our team."

Horvat, who came over with 31 goals in 49 games, struggled to provide that scoring on Long Island with just seven goals in 30 games. 

A lot of that had to do with Mathew Barzal being out injured, and now, Horvat isn't just living up to expectations: He's exceeding them.

In 27 games, Horvat has 10 goals and 16 assists, and his play with Barzal has given the Islanders a legitimate top line for the first time in ages. 

On the other side of that deal, Räty is playing bottom-six minutes in the AHL, Beauvillier is on the Chicago Blackhawks, and the conditional first became Filip Hronek after Vancouver made a deal with the Detroit Red Wings. 

A bottom-six forward in Toronto due to the overwhelming top-six talent, the Pierre Engvall acquisition has been right there with the Horvat trade in terms of importance.

Lamoriello didn't draft Engvall while at the helm in Toronto but knew his game and saw that he was being sheltered, sending the Islanders 2024 third-round pick to Kyle Dubas on Feb. 28. 

Afer a few shaky games to start his Islanders' tenure, Lane Lambert paired him with Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri late in a game against the Los Angeles Kings a year ago before starting the threesome against the Anaheim Ducks on March 15. 

That line exploded against the Ducks, and Lambert hasn't touched that line since.

In the summer, Engall and the Islanders agreed to a seven-year extension worth $21 million ($3 M AAV). 

"I didn't have him for a while, but obviously, he's been a general manager for a long, long time and has been very successful," Engvall said. "I'm really happy to be here and thankful to be here for several years. I couldn't feel better."

So far in 2023-24, that line has been a force, with Engvall using his speed to help them transition. He has four goals and nine assists in 26 games this season, and the line's 15 goals ranks fifth in the NHL, per Moneypuck.com. 

"Engvall brings speed to the game, and he's got outstanding range. He has hockey sense, and I think he's only going to get better and better," Lamoriello said. "I watched him when he first came over when I had him in Toronto, and his game has increased as far as the dimension that he has. And I think he has tremendous growth. And although it might look a little long, because of what his past situation is, I think that you're going to find dividends in this young man."

The Islanders certainly see Engvall's importance firsthand and why Lamoriello brought him in. 

On July 1, 2019, the Islanders signed goaltender Semyon Varlamov to a four-year deal worth $20 million to be the starter and help bring goaltender prospect Ilya Sorokin to Long Island. 

After playing strong hockey for New York over the length of his contract while also completing his Sorokin mission, Varlamov had no interest in playing hockey anywhere else.

"I would love to stay with the team. I have a good feeling about this team and about the future. So I want to be part of it," Varlamov said following the end of the Islanders' season.

With Sorokin becoming one of the elite netminders in the NHL, Varlamov's role became a pure backup during the 2022-23 season.

He clearly accepted that role, inking a four-year extension worth $11 million ($2.75 M AAV) on July 1 to remain on Long Island. 

"I don't think I've seen anyone [in] any better [shape] than Varly, as far as how he takes care of his body, how he prepares for each day of practice, how he post-practice and post-game takes care of his body," Lamoriello said. "He is a consummate pro, both on and off the ice. But more importantly for how he, you know, sort of treats himself. So he might be a 35-year-old, but I will tell you this. I've seen a lot of 26, 27-year-olds I wish were in the shape that he is, and as far as that goes, and that's the difference."

Unexpectedly, Sorokin has been human to start the 2023-24 season, and Varlamov has earned playing time. One could ask where the Islanders would be without the veteran backstop's strong play.

In nine starts, Varlamov owns a 6-3-1 record, with a 2.60 GAA and a .921 SV%, with that SV% ranking fifth in the NHL amongst goaltenders with eight or more starts on the season. 

His two shutouts on the season are tied for second in the NHL. 

Many argued that Varlamov's contract extension was a complete waste of money because Sorokin had signed an eight-year extension and that an expensive backup was just bad money management. 

However, despite their up-and-down start to the season, Varlamov has been brilliant and played a vital role in why the Islanders sit in second place in the Metropolitan Division. 

What seemed like an in-depth signing on July 5 has turned into one of those nifty under-the-radar Lamoriello acquisitions, inking Julien Gauthier inked a two-year extension worth $1.575 million ($787,500 AAV), 

"I didn't know much, honestly. I heard Lou's a great guy. Like I never met him before. I thought he was awesome to me," Gauthier told THN. "When he brought me in this summer when I just signed here, I thought it was super nice, and the organization was great to me. No complaints. It's a world-class organization. 

As for getting a two-year commitment rather than just a one-year prove-it deal: "It's amazing. It's a sign of confidence, for sure. It's not as stressful because you don't have to consistently think of that, and you're not just in for like a year, and you're like, we'll see if it works or not, you know?

Gauthier had a strong showing during training camp but was an extra when the season began. 

However, his hard work and readiness when his name was called have him as a staple alongside Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Simon Holmstrom for the last eight games. 

Over that span, the Islanders are 5-1-2, with Gauthier scoring two goals and adding three assists. 

Even when Gauthier isn't producing, his ability to get in on the forecheck and pressure the opposition with his speed has given the Islanders exactly what they've needed. 

Gauthier has two goals and three assists in 11 games. 

When the Islanders lost Adam Pelech and Sebastian Aho to injuries on Nov. 25 against the Ottawa Senators, Lamoriello knew he needed to get another defenseman.

Fortunately for New York, the Florida Panthers placed 30-year-old defenseman Mike Reilly on waivers the next day, and the Islanders brought him in.

"I've heard a lot of great stories. Great things about him. So, I mean, obviously, with the guys that I knew here and stuff, they've talked a little bit, and Lou's obviously been involved in U.S. hockey, and so yeah, it's exciting." Reilly told THN. 

"Some of the rules get blown out of proportion, but at the end of the day, it's a team, and there's one goal. Guys are on the same page, and I was definitely excited when I got that call."

After needing a few games to get the system down, Reilly has been a force from the backend, a Nick Leddy-like addition, using his skating ability to evade danger and help the Islanders transition game. 

In seven games with New York, quarterbacking the second power-play unit and playing alongside Scott Mayfield on the Islanders' third defense pairing, Reilly has a goal and three assists in seven games and has filled a much-needed role.

Reilly has been so integral in his short time that he may have won a starting job, even if Aho is ready to be activated out of injured Reserve. 

Reilly has one goal and three assists in eight games with New York. 

The most recent acquisition, Robert Bortuzzo, was a veteran defenseman just waiting for an opportunity after not getting playing time in his 10th year in St. Louis.

With the Islanders in need of a right-side defenseman, after Ryan Pulock landed on injured Reserve following a shot block against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Lamoriello acquired Bortuzzo for a seventh-round pick in 2024. 

"Just excitement. The guy's obviously done a ton in this game, and his teams are always competitive," Bortuzzo shared on the opportunity to play for Lamoriello. "I played with guys that played for him between Scotty Gomez and a few other buddies of mine that spoke to his loyalty and what he would do for his players.

"I kind of knew the whole package, and I just couldn't be more excited to come."

A clean-shaven Bortuzzo has brought the physicality, grit, and leadership the Islanders needed on the backend.

He's played his first two games alongside a young Samuel Bolduc, using that experience to help Bolduc relax on the ice. 

In three games, Bortuzzo has three hits and a block, along with not standing out for the wrong reasons in 13:52 ATOI.

Lamoriello wouldn't take the credit for Hudson Fasching joining the Islanders in the summer of 2022.

"You'd have to go to Chris Lamoriello because he had everything to do with that. That was his signing," Lamoriello said. "That was the person that he looked at. He thought that he could have been a player that could have been called up on short term and maybe even more because of what he saw. And obviously, he was right."

Fasching got his chance in early December and became a catalyst in the lineup, earning himself a two-year extension worth $1.55 million (775K AAV) after 10 goals and nine assists in 49 games.

This season, Fasching wasn't providing the spark we saw a year ago, finding his way in and out of the lineup.

But since taking over Matt Martin's role (Injured Reserve), Fasching has found a home on the fourth line with Casey Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck.

"It's pretty obvious with what he's [Lamoriello] done in terms of personnel is that he believes in this group, and it's fine-tuning what we have, and it's trying to continue to pull the rope in the same direction," Fasching told The Hockey News this past summer. "And I think we have all the pieces here, and we're just gonna try to find a way to put them together the best way possible. I think that is really the big thing."

In 18 games this season, Fasching has one goal and four assists. 

After nine seasons on the island, Scott Mayfield never planned to leave. Despite being a pending unrestricted free agent last season for the first time in his career, he consistently spoke about how much he wanted to stay and how much the Islanders meant to him and his family.

On July 1, the Islanders and Mayfield agreed on a seven-year extension worth $24.5 million ($3.5 M AAV). 

"I think that he's an unheralded sort of player in what he does and what he brings, the minutes that he takes, also the physicality he brings to the game," Lamoriello said. "And I think he adds that to the defense that we have. He plays in every defensive situation and also is a top penalty-killer. So he was an important person. He doesn't do it with glamour. He just does it in an efficient way."

Mayfield has struggled to provide the defensive play the Islanders have needed, and a lot of that is due to an ankle injury he suffered in the season-opening win over the Buffalo Sabres. 

He missed seven games with that injury and told THN last week that he was still dealing with the ankle. Now, he's day-to-day with an upper-body injury. 

It appears that Sebastian Aho, who was just activated out of IR, will draw back in against the Ducks, but who knows how long Mayfield will miss this go-around and who knows if he will come back in when he's ready, given the play of Reilly and Bortuzzo. 

Mayfield has four assists in 20 games this season. 

You can watch Rosner talk Islanders hockey on Hockey Night in New York with co-host Sean Cuthbert live Sunday nights at 8 PM ET during the season at twitch.tv/hockeynightny.