Why Bo Horvat deserves cheers, not jeers, in return to Vancouver

VANCOUVER — The media’s theme ahead of Bo Horvat’s return to Vancouver on Wednesday to play the Canucks: Should the former captain be cheered or jeered at Rogers Arena?

Are you kidding? For what he did for the Canucks — all the heat he took for teammates and organization — Bo Horvat deserves the Order of Canada.

Horvat’s trade to the New York Islanders in January, driven by the salary cap and Canucks management’s decision to prioritize an extension for J.T. Miller, left the centre from Rodney, Ont., 10th in all-time scoring in Vancouver.

Over 9½ seasons and 621 games, Horvat scored 201 goals and 420 points and was consistently among the Canucks' best players.

But the unfortunate timing of the 28-year-old’s birth and bad luck at the National Hockey League draft in 2013 meant Horvat arrived in Vancouver as the team was about to collapse at the end of the most successful period in franchise history.

After he was named captain in 2019, Horvat became the spokesman and face of the franchise during two pandemic seasons, and another two of bitter disappointment and unprecedented upheaval that included two management regimes and three head coaches during Horvat’s final 14 months in Vancouver.

The one time in the last eight years that the Canucks made the playoffs, Horvat scored 10 goals in 17 games inside the Edmonton bubble in the summer of 2020.

He never dodged the media or even a question, hockey-related or not, while speaking nightly — usually after a loss — with grace and thoughtfulness as the Canucks' captain. During some of those dark years, Horvat was truly one of the best things about the organization.

But then in April, in a walkoff interview after a 4-0 win on Long Island that helped push the Islanders into the playoffs, Horvat was asked: "How does this rank for you in playoff pushes, the excitement of this building and the fans' involvement over the past couple of games?"

And Horvat was careless enough to answer honestly: "It’s been unbelievable. It’s a lot better than Vancouver, I’ll tell you that."

Ka-boom!

For anyone eager to be insulted, it doesn’t matter that Horvat was literally telling the truth about the playoff drive with his new team while his old team was about to miss the Stanley Cup tournament for the seventh time in eight years. (In 2020, there was no playoff drive for the Canucks as the NHL re-started with the fan-less Stanley Cup tournament after the coronavirus shutdown).

Still, it was a careless remark by Horvat that is permanently stuck to his legacy in Vancouver.

"I think people should welcome him and celebrate him on his return," Canucks defenceman Quinn Hughes, Horvat’s successor as captain, said after Tuesday’s practice. "He put in nine really good years here and he was always solid, never complained. He was a great leader... someone that everyone could kind of go to if they needed to talk to someone. It wasn't always the easiest years and he always stepped right in front of it. So, yeah, he should be welcomed, celebrated."

Miller said he was not going to "dip my toe in that basket" when asked what should be the fans’ reaction to Horvat on Wednesday.

"No matter what happens... in the room we all know the kind of guy he is,” Miller said. "He's a really good teammate. At the end of the day, I can't really say much more about a guy. It's going to be good to see him and we expect him to be flying, that's for sure."

Like always.

Largely ignored ahead of the matchup, Anthony Beauvillier will be facing his old team at home for the first time.

A key component of the Horvat trade, Beauvillier faced the Islanders on Long Island when the Canucks won 6-5 there on Feb. 9, just 10 days after the blockbuster. Like Horvat, Beauvillier, 26, had spent his entire career with the team that traded him.

“It's still going to feel strange a little bit,” the winger said Tuesday. “But last year when we played them, it was so fresh and it was really, really weird. I'm still in touch with, honestly, most of them. The group there hasn't changed that much in the last six years that I was there. I created some really good friendships and I'm still in touch with most of them.”

Asked about the difference between playing in New York and Vancouver — a loaded question like the one Horvat was asked on April 8 — Beauvilier said: “In New York you have all those professional teams with a really passionate fan base. It's a little different here in Vancouver and Canada because there's a lot more attention on the hockey team. The city kind of revolves around the Canucks. I've had the chance to play for two great organizations, so I'm thankful for that.”

Canucks defenceman Carson Soucy did not practise on Tuesday after leaving Sunday’s win in Montreal with a leg injury due to a shot block. Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said Soucy is “more week to week” but expected defenceman Tyler Myers to be ready for the Islanders.

Myers was hurt the same shift as Soucy, but was able to finish the game after falling awkwardly in a collision. The Canucks have recalled minor-league defenceman Akito Hirose.

Despite a run of improved play, winger Nils Hoglander will remain a healthy scratch for now after coming out of the lineup on Sunday to make room for centre Teddy Blueger to return from a leg injury.

Scratched Oct. 21 in Florida, Hoglander played the next nine games with added intensity and improved focus. But he struggled with teammates during Saturday’s 5-2 loss in Toronto, where the Swede was at fault on William Nylander’s tying goal in the second period. Hoglander was beaten along the boards on a keep-in, then was puck-watching a few seconds later when Nylander swooped in to make it 2-2.

“I love Nils, but he's got to be reliable,” Toocchet said. “That Toronto goal was a big goal that he made two big mistakes for us on that goal. I liked the other end, but he's got to make sure that we can rely on him in the defensive end.”