Here's how NHL is handling Horvat at All-Star game after Canucks trade
Bo Horvat is still in the Pacific Division — just not with the Vancouver Canucks.
Sort of.
The NHL announced on Wednesday that Vancouver’s recently traded captain will still go to the NHL All-Star Game in Florida and play for the Pacific Division team, wearing a New York Islanders jersey.
Bo Horvat will remain on the Pacific Division All-Star team but will wear an @NYIslanders Reverse Retro jersey during skills. He will be introduced as being from the Pacific Division but playing for the Islanders.
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) February 1, 2023
The Islanders jersey will have a Pacific Division patch on it for the Skills Competition.
Although it’s not confirmed whether he will wear 53, as he wore in Vancouver, or 14, his new Islanders number, there is a strong possibility that Horvat will hit the ice at some point with Elias Pettersson.
Canucks fans voted their then captain in through the NHL’s fan vote process, while the league selected Pettersson to represent the club.
There could even be more former Canucks clashes in Friday’s Skills Competition if Pettersson or Horvat gets a chance to participate in the NHL’s Breakaway Challenge, where they would face Roberto Luongo, who suits up as a goalie for the first time since retiring.
Horvat and his wife Holly even got custom Horvat All-Star jean jackets with the Canucks logo on them for their small children. Still, those might be the only Horvat Canucks gear at the festivities, According to Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre.
While it may be a bit of an awkward situation for Horvat and Canucks fans in Florida, it’s not the first time that All-Star Game-bound players have been dealt right before the festivities.
In 2016, John Scott, who the NHL attempted to force out of the game due to NHL fans voting him in as a joke, was traded from the Arizona Coyotes to the Montreal Canadiens, going on to captain the Pacific Division without playing for Arizona.
On this day in 2016, in one of the greatest moments in NHL All-Star Game history, @johnscott_32 was named MVP #Hockey365 pic.twitter.com/hsd9PbLs3b
— Mike Commito (@mikecommito) January 31, 2023
Scott went on to score two goals in the semifinal of the All-Star Game and win the 2016 NHL All-Star MVP Award.
Meanwhile, Florida Panther Sandis Ozolinsh was named an Eastern Conference All-Star in 2003 but was traded to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, yet he played for the Eastern All-Stars in the game. He didn’t compete in the All-Star Skills Competition, where he would have had to wear a Panthers jersey.
When Horvat takes the ice in Florida for the NHL All-Star Game, it’s going to be an awkward sight to see for both Canucks and Islanders fans, but at least it’s not the first time it’s happened.
The NHL All-Star festivities get underway in Florida this weekend, with the Skills Competition on Friday at 4 pm PT/7 pm ET and the 3-on-3 tournament, where Horvat could play with Pettersson on Saturday at 12 pm PT/pm ET.Â
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