WASHINGTON — Bo Horvat didn’t mean to go viral.
But his comments to MSG Networks following Saturday’s win over the Flyers comparing his Islanders experience to the Canucks — “It’s a lot better than Vancouver, I’ll tell you that for free,” he said — quickly caught fire on Twitter and in hockey media.
So, following morning skate on Monday at Capital One Arena, Horvat offered a clarification, if not a complete apology.
“I wasn’t, obviously, expecting that,” Horvat said. “I think it was kind of a heat-of-the-moment thing, where I didn’t mean any disrespect to the fans in Vancouver or teammates or the city of Vancouver at all. It wasn’t directed at them at all. It was just the fans were all excited and I was excited to be in the playoff push.
“It was one of those things where my emotions got the best of me. I was just really happy to be there, to be honest with you. It might have come out the wrong way to a lot of people, so I apologize for that. I’m just excited to be in this position right now. To be in a playoff push, to be right there. I really enjoyed my time in Vancouver, I’m not trying to disrespect them at all. I’m sorry if I offended anybody.”
Horvat had been with the Canucks for the entirety of his nine-year career before getting traded at the end of January to the Islanders, a deal that sent Anthony Beauvillier, Aatu Raty and a conditional 2023 first-round pick — which is likely to convey, as it is top-12 protected — back to Vancouver.
Upon joining the Islanders, Horvat said he thought he would be a “Canuck for life” until extension talks with Vancouver didn’t work out, leading to the trade.
He eventually inked an eight-year, $68 million deal with the Islanders — one he sounds quite happy to have signed.
“I’m really happy to be in this position right now. I’m really happy to be here, and I just wanted to express that,” Horvat said. “Like I said, it came out the wrong way to a lot of people. We got another big game here tonight. Two big, important games and hopefully we can get in [to the playoffs].”
Though Horvat’s comments likely guaranteed an unfriendly reception when the Islanders play in Vancouver next year, the Islanders can’t complain that he is talking so positively of his new home.
That is, after all, the marriage that both sides need to be concerned with now that Horvat is locked in until 2031.
Horvat, who had been in a slump since Mathew Barzal’s mid-February injury, had gotten on the board in the last couple games headed into Monday, with a goal and an assist against Tampa and two assists against the Flyers.
That has been a boon to the Islanders, who have gotten some needed production from their top line as a result.
“I think we finally started to understand each other out there,” Simon Holmstrom told The Post. “We’ve all been playing really good and the goals have been coming our way as well, so it’s been nice.”
With Barzal’s status uncertain at best — he stayed in New York on Monday to skate on his own and still has not joined the team — it is vital for the Islanders that the first line find a solution beyond waiting for his return.
That seems to have finally happened lately.
“We were getting our looks a lot over the last couple weeks,” Horvat said. “And it was just a matter of it going in for us. Finally, we got rewarded with a couple and hopefully we can continue that.”