The Vancouver Canucks traded captain Bo Horvat to the New York Islanders on Monday afternoon in exchange for forward Anthony Beauvillier, centre Aatu Raty and a protected 2023 first-round draft pick.

“I’m sure when this is all over and it starts to sink in, I’m definitely going to have a little bit of weight off the shoulders. I’m not going to lie, it wasn’t easy, with everything that went on, and the unknown and my family the unknown, with people asking me what’s going to happen. It was a lot.

“And then to have deal with you (media) guys every day, definitely didn’t make it easier. But I think it made me stronger as a person, as a player. And, again, it led me to this moment right now. So I’m grateful for that. Definitely looking forward to joining the Islanders.

“I also can’t say enough about the fans and the province of B.C. and all of the unbelievable people that I’ve met in my time in Vancouver. I’m getting emotional here. It’s a tough goodbye.”

“First of all, we would like to thank Bo Horvat for all that he has done for the Vancouver Canucks during his nine seasons in Vancouver,” Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said in a club news release. “He has been a great leader and ambassador for our hockey club.

“As difficult as it is to trade away our captain, we are excited to add a high-quality 25 year old winger in Beauvillier, a young centre in Raty, and a protected first-round draft pick. These pieces will be a big part of our development and growth moving forward.”

“We need to improve our team,” stressed Allvin. “Five weeks to the trade deadline and I’ll assume that more calls will come along. We did prioritize to get a young centre or defenceman back for Bo. But we felt strongly that Raty was a key piece in this deal.”

Did the Canucks get enough for Horvat? Allvin said they wanted to retain their captain, but when that process hit a stalemate, the general manager had to pivot and start talking to his peers about a potential return for the centre.

“The market dictates what players are worth, and in this case, we’re really excited about what we got back,” said Allvin. “We got three first-rounders and it was important to get a first-round pick. A couple of months ago, we put our best offer in (to Horvat) and they wanted to wait and that’s when we needed to see what the value is and get a return.

So, why now? Why not wait for a bigger haul closer to the March 3 trade deadline when more contenders or pretenders seek that missing piece?

“Or, maybe not,” stressed Allvin. “The timing was right. It was a good trade for both teams.”

It also presents a culture shift with the captain’s departure. More will be asked of Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes in leadership roles, but naming a successor to Horvat will likely play out over the summer.

Beauvillier, 25, has appeared in 49 games with the Islanders this season and has 20 points (9-11) and 10 penalty minutes. The 5-foot-11, 180 pound forward has spent his entire career with the Islanders since entering the league in 2016-17. In 457 regular-season games, Beauvillier has 209 points (102-107) and collected his 100th NHL goal during a three-point outing (2-1-3) on Dec. 23 against Florida. He has also appeared in 49 career NHL playoff games with the Islanders, compiling 29 points (15-14-29).

“Beauvillier has been playing pretty consistent for the Islanders and I saw him a lot with my previous organization (Pittsburgh) in the playoffs and I like the details he plays with — his tenacity and his puck hunting,” said Allvin. “He’ll fit in well with our top-six group on the left side.

“He has shown he can play the power play and penalty kill and he was effective in the playoffs and excited about the way we want to play.”

The Sorel-Tracy, Que., native has represented Canada on various occasions, including at the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament (gold); 2015 IIHF World U-18 Championships (bronze); 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship; and 2018 World Championship.

Before beginning his pro career, Beauvillier spent three seasons with the Shawinigan Cataractes of the QMJHL, leading the team in scoring in his second season (42-52 in 67 GP) and points-per-game (1.61) in his final junior season. Beauvillier was originally selected by the Islanders in the first round, 28th overall at the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.

Raty, 20, has split the 2022-23 season between the Islanders and their AHL affiliate Bridgeport Islanders, registering two goals (2-0) in 12 NHL games. At the AHL level, the left-shot centre has produced 15 points (7-8) in 27 games and has 12 penalty minutes. Before making his North American debut last season with Bridgeport (2 GP, 0-0), Raty played three seasons in the Finnish Elite League (SM-liiga) with Oulun Kärpät and Mikkelin Jukurit, totalling 51 points (18-33) in 94 regular-season games.

“For a young player to step in from Europe and play as well as he has in 12 games with New York, is pretty impressive. But it’s up to develop him to become a full-time NHL player

The 6-foot-2, 190 pound centre ranked second in team scoring for Mikkelin Jukurit in 2021-22 with 40 points (13-27) in only 41 games, for the second highest points-per-game average on the team (0.98). A native of Oulunsalo, Finland, Raty has also appeared on the international stage with Finland multiple times, including earning silver at the World U-17 Hockey Challenge and collecting three points (2-1) at the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Two picks later, the Canucks selected forward Jonathan Lekkerimaki.

“There was nothing going on,” Allvin said at the time.

Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello replied: “Talk to Vancouver.”

Meanwhile, the departure of Horvat and loss of Lane Pederson to waivers could open the door for Vasily Podkolzin and Nils Hoglander to return to the NHL. Their games and confidence have grown in the AHL at Abbotsford. Podklozin is playing more free and has 16 points (7-9) in 26 games. Hoglander has 11 points (5-6)  in 17 games.

As for Horvat, he got on a heater in late October and his 13 goals in the following 13 games set the performance bar to expand the parameters of a contract extension that was never cemented. He was well on his way to establishing a new career standard — he’s on pace for a whopping 50 goals and 90 points — and the hockey operations’ department was contemplating salary cap hell before making the trade.

Horvat knew what was likely coming, but stayed true to his professionalism last week.

“We can be a little tighter in the defensive zone, stopping in the right areas, and not blowing the zone and cheating for offence.”

He’ll face his former club on Feb. 9 at the Islanders’ new arena.

“That is going to be an interesting game to say the least,” he said Monday. “It’s going to be weird skating on the other side from my teammates. I’ve got the game circled on my calendar.”

Initial negotiations with Horvat’s camp were about awarding past performance and not the promise of bigger future production and his 31 goals through 49 games. It’s why there was a stalemate in talks because of the dominoes that needed to tumble to make Horvat fit. They never did fall. Too much money was tied up in players they couldn’t move.

That pickle was complicated by the Andrei Kuzmenko, two-year, US$11 million extension Thursday that cut into the Horvat math to get a deal done.

“He’s had a career run and he’s looking for his money and deserves it,” Rutherford said of Horvat. “I don’t blame him. But even with what we have on the table for him now, without any changes, we’re well over the cap on the projection.”

And that was before the Kuzmenko extension.