When the Vancouver Canucks sent then-Captain Bo Horvat to the New York Islanders in 2023 in exchange for a first-round pick, Anthony Beauvillier, and Aatu Raty, the trade divided the fanbase.

The debate centred on whether the Canucks made the right choice by keeping JT Miller over Horvat.

At the time of the trade, both Horvat and Miller were 30-goal scorers, and the Canucks had some of the league’s best depth down the middle, with Elias Pettersson also complementing the two elite goal scorers.

Despite the success of both Horvat and Miller, the Canucks ultimately had the desire and cap space to keep only one, and chose to extend Miller instead of Horvat. The following season, Horvat put up a career high of 33 goals, while Miller recorded his own career high of 37 goals and 102 points. With Miller already extended, this career year was great news for the Canucks. But when it came to Horvat? The boom in goalscoring and production essentially priced the Canucks’ captain out of Vancouver and made a trade quickly begin to feel inevitable.

In September of 2022, Miller signed a seven-year contract with the Canucks, effectively sealing Horvat’s fate. Following the trade to the Islanders, Horvat signed an eight-year contract, making Long Island his new home for the foreseeable future.

The Canucks first season without Horvat was seemingly a success. The team finished first in their division and sixth in the league with 50 wins and 109 points. Rick Tocchet won coach of the year, and Quinn Hughes earned the Norris Trophy for best defenceman. The Canucks were defeated in seven games by the Edmonton Oilers in round two, but it seemed like the team had finally taken an important step and surely would contend for the Stanley Cup next season.

The following season, however, things started to take a turn for the worse. By January, Miller had severely underperformed. With only nine goals and a locker room feud with Elias Pettersson, the Canucks made the decision to send Miller to the New York Rangers. After trading Miller, the Canucks flipped the first round pick they got in that deal and used it to offload some bad money in Vincent Desharnais and Danton Heinen, while also getting Marcus Pettersson back in return from the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Canucks missed the playoffs after finishing 18th in the league with only 90 points. Rick Tocchet left the Canucks, and assistant coach Adam Foote was promoted to Head Coach. Despite a new coach, and the addition of players like Marcus Pettersson and Filip Chytil, the Canucks struggles followed them into the 2025-26 season.

Fast forward to the 2025-26 season, with Miller having played his way out of town to the New York Rangers and Horvat on the Islanders, the Canucks are last place in the NHL. It’s fair to ask where the Canucks would be if they had kept Horvat over Miller.

Would there have been no locker room issues with Horvat still the captain? Would Quinn Hughes still be on the team if the Canucks kept Horvat? It’s impossible to know any of these answers for sure, but recent events sure have made us wonder.

Horvat’s current production has surpassed that of Miller’s, and despite the Canucks recent acquisition of Marco Rossi, a player like Horvat would be the perfect addition to the teams centre depth.

This season, with the Islanders, Horvat has 19 goals and 31 points, which would lead the Canucks in both categories. Not to mention, Horvat has been a big part of the Islanders’ penalty kill, which ranks fifth in the entire NHL. The Canucks not only miss Horvat’s offensive production, but also his penalty-killing ability, as the team is the third-worst penalty-killing team in the league.

No matter how you feel about Horvat, it’s clear he is a heart and soul guy who rarely gives less than a 100% on the ice.

The Canucks have struggled all over the ice this season, both defensively and offensively. There’s no question that having a leader like Horvat would help both on the ice and off the ice in the locker room.

Horvat’s tenure as captain had its ups and downs. During the 2020 bubble, Horvat was one of the team’s top playoff performers, but he was also at the helm during some dark times in Canucks history.

Whether or not you were team Miller or team Horvat, it’s hard to ignore that the Canucks would be better off with Horvat still on the team.

Not only would Horvat help take some of the pressure off Pettersson, he would also be a key locker room presence for some of the Canucks’ younger players, just like he was prior to his trade away from the Canucks. The team’s current issues run deeper than just a lack of depth down the middle. So while still having Horvat would undoubtedly improve the on-ice product, it still likely wouldn’t be enough to put the Canucks back into playoff contention.

Even still, Horvat would be a welcome sight to Canucks fans. In the past, fans have suggested the Canucks try to reacquire Horvat, but he seems to have made himself a fan favourite in Long Island, just like he did in Vancouver.

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