There’s a clean little contrast sitting inside the Canucks’ latest chatter. Brock Boeser is talking about what Vancouver is trying to become next, while Bo Horvat is out in New York wearing the captain’s C for the Islanders. Put those two names in the same conversation and you get a pretty clear snapshot of where the Canucks stand: one veteran still helping steer the present, and one former leader who keeps serving as a reminder of what was left behind.
Boeser doesn’t sound interested in dragging last season’s wreckage into a new one. Vancouver went through a miserable 2025-26, the roster kept shifting around him, and there wasn’t much reason to dress up the mess.
Now he’s framing the upcoming season in plain terms: “It’s a new chapter for our team.” His belief is just as straightforward - if the players come to the rink every day wanting to get better, the Canucks can have a much better year.
That may sound simple, but simple is often the hardest thing to pull off. Vancouver has young players who need bigger roles, veterans who have to provide some stability and a group still figuring out what kind of team it wants to be.
Boeser knows culture doesn’t just appear because a season changes on the calendar. Somebody has to set the tone, and at 29, he’s one of the players expected to do that now.
It’s a different place from where he started in Vancouver, back when he arrived and scored 29 goals in his first full NHL season. He’s been around enough to see the organization through strong stretches and ugly ones, which is why this next phase feels like more than just another campaign. If it really is a new chapter, Boeser has a meaningful part in writing it.
Horvat, meanwhile, remains part of the Canucks conversation even from afar. Asked about his former teammate becoming captain of the Islanders, Boeser didn’t hesitate: “No surprise.” He called Horvat a great guy, a hard worker and a pro who comes to the rink wanting to get better every day.
That praise lands naturally from a former teammate, but it also brings back the familiar hockey question that never fully goes away: what would Vancouver look like if it had kept Horvat?
The Canucks traded him to the Islanders on Jan. 31, 2023, and received Anthony Beauvillier, prospect centre Aatu Räty and a protected first-round pick in return. At the time of the deal, Horvat had 31 goals in 49 games.
Once he got to New York, he signed an eight-year, $68-million contract. Now 31, he’s coming off three straight seasons of 28 or more goals, and his $8.5-million annual salary is looking more and more manageable as the NHL’s salary cap keeps rising.
Vancouver couldn’t keep everyone, and Horvat was nearing unrestricted free agency, so the organization had to make its call. But the trade still invites a look back, because that’s what hockey does. A deal gets made, everyone moves on, and a few years later the story circles back to see what became of the pieces.
For now, Horvat is the Islanders’ captain, Boeser is still in Vancouver, and the Canucks are trying to build something new. That’s the thread connecting all of this.
Boeser is focused on moving forward. Horvat is a reminder of where the franchise has already been.
And the next phase in Vancouver will come down to the same basic formula Boeser laid out: show up, get better and see where it leads.
In Other News...
Islanders Rookie Finale Left Scouts With More To Sort Out
The Rookie Showcase wrapped up with the kind of edge both teams hoped to see, giving the Islanders one last chance to evaluate young players before training camp opens. For New Jersey, defenseman Seamus Casey stood out with his poise and positioning, while goalie Jakub Malek came up with key stops when the game turned into a skills test, the sort of moment that can matter as much as any regular-season rehearsal.
For the Islanders, the larger takeaway was less about the final result than the sorting that still has to be done. This event is built to help prospects make their case for camp spots, and a close, competitive finish only sharpened the evaluation process. Some of the names on the ice helped their stock, but the real question now is which players did enough to carry that momentum into the next stage. [Read more 🡒]
Victor Eklund Is Giving Islanders A Real Opening Night Decision
Victor Eklunds first year in the organization has already given the Islanders something to think about as opening night approaches. The 2025 first-round pick spent his season in the Swedish Hockey League before coming over to Bridgeport, and the early returns have only added to the sense that his path is moving faster than expected.
Eklund flashed quickly in the AHL after joining the Islanders affiliate, then got a brief look with the big club in his lone NHL game. Now the question is no longer whether he belongs in the mix, but where the best place is to keep building him up, with New York weighing whether he starts in the NHL or goes back to Bridgeport for more development. [Read more 🡒]
Islanders Face A Wing Battle That Could Define Their Direction
The Islanders are heading toward one of those camp battles that can shape the feel of an entire season, with their wing group sitting right at the center of the decision. The mix on hand includes veterans such as Anthony Duclair, Kyle Palmieri, Ondrej Palat and Pierre Engvall, while the organization also has a crop of younger forwards pressing to matter, including Matthew Schaefer, Victor Eklund and Cole Eiserman.
For management, the question is bigger than just who earns a spot in September. Pete DeBoer and Mathieu Darche will have to decide whether this team is best served by leaning on experience and trying to stay in the playoff hunt, or by giving the prospects real runway and accepting the growing pains that come with it. However that balance comes down, the wing spots could tell the story of where the Islanders believe they are going next. [Read more 🡒]