New York Islanders forward Bo Horvat would be the first to tell you that he certainly had more to give after the Vancouver Canucks traded him to Long Island. But he did open up on the mental toll the trade took on him and his family, something he is still dealing with.

New York Islanders forward Bo Horvat would be the first to tell you that he certainly had more to give after the Vancouver Canucks traded him to Long Island.

While the Vancouver Canucks were struggling, captain Horvat was dominating, with 31 goals in 49 games, along with 23 assists. 

Cracking the 50-goal mark may have been a dream for Horvat over his first eight NHL seasons, but given his start, it was incredibly likely that he would accomplish that feat.

Due to mismanagement by the Canucks, pouring money into J.T. Miller rather than their captain, there was no choice but to move Horvat before the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline.

For Aatu Räty, Anthony Beauvillier, and a 2023 conditional first-round pick, Horvat was dealt to the New York Islanders, a team in dire need of game-changing offense as they teetered on a playoff spot with half a season to go.

Before his skates hit the ice at Northwell Ice Center in East Meadow, Horvat inked an eight-year extension worth $8.5 million annually. 

Initial reactions saw that as an overpay, but one must realize that a star player wanted to stay on Long Island, the second to want to do so in the calendar year after Mathew Barzal's extension before the beginning of the season.

Those two showed glimpses of being the next dynamic duo for New York before a long-term injury to Barzal forced him out of the lineup for the final 23 games of the regular season.

READ MORE: Dissatisfied Barzal Tired of Islanders Sneaking Into Postseason

That heavily impacted Horvat's production, but not to the level it should have.

He knows that. Any person watching knew that as the chances came, but the goals did not. 

If you are someone who did watch during the struggles and thought that he did nothing to help the Islanders get into the playoffs, here's a recommendation to get your eyes checked.

Yes, the goals weren't there, but in the absence of Barzal and more so with the absence of Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Horvat ate minutes at five-on-five, playing on both special teams as well.

He was also integral in the face-off dot, especially winning key draws late in games.

But again, results. People wanted results, and Horvat didn't rise to the occasion when the games were magnified in the playoffs. 

While the focus is just on what happened on the ice, people need to understand what Horvat had to deal with off the ice this season.

Horvat started this season as a pending unrestricted free agent with no real sign that Vancouver cared much to bring him back.

That meant uncertainty from the start of the season until he made his way to New York.

"It was a lot this year -- I'm not going to lie -- mentally. Especially just kind of not knowing what was going to happen, not knowing where I was going to be, how my family is going to get here," Horvat said Monday. "And then, when everything happened, it was just a big tidal wave of emotions. You know, everything going on with a family and living situations and stuff."

Horvat did credit the organization for doing what they can to releve some of the pressure that comes with moving across the country.

"They welcomed me with open arms, and it just made it super smooth and an easy transition. Because, you know, moving across the country with my family, it was a lot. It was a lot on my wife. It was a lot on my family. It was a lot on the kids, and so the organization made it not as hard as it could have been," Horvat said. 

"So, I'm very grateful for that. And I'm just excited to be here for another eight years. It's going to be awesome. I'm excited for our team. You know, I like the pieces we have here, and I'm excited to be here."

Horvat also made it abundantly clear that the trade wasn't an excuse for the lack of production. 

And the trade is not an excuse. It was his reality and still is his reality.  

"I mean, I'm not trying to make excuses by any means. But it was a lot of pressure on myself and the family," Horvat said. "I would have liked to score more goals for us, and I definitely hold myself to a high standard and hold myself accountable and expect a lot out of myself. When the goals dried up, it was frustrating, but again, it's just something that I think is gonna make me better in the long run mentally and as a player.

"So, again, I'm just looking forward to getting settled, moving into the house and getting my family settled as well."

His summer is not just about completing the move but will be a major part of it.

"Pretty much all of it," Horvat said with a laugh. "Obviously going to focus on getting better on the ice too. That's going to be a big focus, and trying to be ready in the best shape and mentally ready to go for next year hockey-wise. But yeah, getting the family moved in, getting ourselves comfortable is a big priority of ours too. Because just the instability of all of this year of the unknowing and where we're going to be definitely, like I said, weighed on us but looking forward to starting next year ready."

Beside getting accustomed to a new place, Horvat did have to get used to a new system, as the Islanders operated a bit differently than the Canucks.

"Yeah, it's definitely...it's different. It's obviously a little bit more defensive-minded and structured game," Horvat said. "That definitely took me some time to get used to, but I think it fits right in my mold. That fits right into my game. Lou and Lane want that 200-foot structured game that I think fits my mold really well. And I'm just going to continue to try to keep doing what they're asking. And at the end of the day, as long as we're winning hockey games, that's all that matters."

When Horvat went through an 11-game goal slump, which started at the end of February, he told The Hockey News that he would have been more frustrated if he wasn't getting the chances. 

THN asked Horvat again, looking back, what he saw from himself during that time.

"Like I said, I would have been a lot more worried if I wasn't getting the chances, and yeah, there's just it was a little frustrating. I'm not going to lie," Horvat said. "When everything's going in that you're touching at the beginning of the year and then you just kind of comes to a halt, and you feel like you haven't changed your game at all -- it's just not going in the same time -- that can be a little frustrating.

"But we're winning games. So I mean, it would have been a lot, I think, more difficult if we weren't going to make the playoffs or we were losing games. But other guys were stepping up in huge ways, and I think I was doing other things well, killing penalties, winning my face-offs, and I think I bring a lot more than just scoring, and I just tried to use those assets when pucks weren't going in."

At 28, Bo Horvat is in his prime, and with his commitment for eight seasons, his play will be critical to the Islanders' success. 

Having the summer to focus on his family, get settled, and have a fresh mind heading into 2023-24 should go a long way in Horvat being the player that the organization not only expects but needs.