Before Bo Horvat had even shaved, he committed to a future on Long Island. 

Horvat, who completed his first practice with the Islanders on Sunday still sporting some facial hair — which he’ll need to get rid of in order to comply with Lou Lamoriello’s organizational rule — inked an eight-year extension totaling $68 million, The Post confirmed, per an industry source. That will keep him with the franchise until 2031, the same length of time Mathew Barzal committed to at the start of this season, with a cap hit of $8.5 million annually. 

“It’s a relief to be honest with you,” Horvat, who was traded from the Canucks to the Islanders last Monday, said Sunday. “It’s been a mental grind of a year, to say the least. To finally walk in and kinda be set up somewhere, the not knowing was the thing that was hindering me and my family the most. So to be locked in here for eight years is special to me. It’s special to my family.” 

Horvat, who skated on a line with Barzal and Josh Bailey in practice, will make his Islanders debut on Monday night in Philadelphia. Lamoriello dealt Anthony Beauvillier, Aatu Raty and a protected 2023 first-round pick to the Canucks to acquire the center, who has already scored 31 goals this season. 

“It’s too long and too much money,” Lamoriello quipped, only half-jokingly, about the contract. 

Though the Islanders may be overpaying on the back end of the deal for the 27-year-old, adding a scorer who can play alongside Barzal fills what was the organization’s top need. If the two are eventually separated, perhaps after this season, the Islanders now have three star-caliber centers in Barzal, Horvat and Brock Nelson, making them one of the deepest teams in the league at the position. 

“It’s a huge moment for our organization. I feel like the Islanders haven’t had a spark like this in a while,” Barzal said, not incorrectly. “It’s huge for our organization, for me, for the guys in the room, for our fans, for everybody. It’s a commitment to what we want to build here.” 

Before the Islanders can get to what they want to build, they need to mount a playoff push for this season. 

Going into Monday’s match against the Flyers, the Islanders are 10th in the Eastern Conference, two points out of a playoff spot with three more games played than the eighth-place Penguins. It is far from a guarantee, even with Horvat, that they’ll be in the playoffs. 

That is what makes Lamoriello’s timing on the Horvat deal, a full month before the trade deadline, pivotal. With four games between now and Saturday — and three against teams well out of the playoff race — gathering points this week is crucial for the Islanders. 

At Sunday’s practice, the Islanders seemed to have a jump in their step. Even the power play, which had struggled massively before the All-Star break, moved the puck well and scored with Horvat playing the bumper spot. Everyone was eager to welcome the new guy. 

Horvat himself had been at the facility since early in the morning. Lamoriello said himself and Patrick Morris, Horvat’s agent, had been communicating since the trade, while Horvat was in Florida for the All-Star break. By the time Sunday morning came around, all that was left was getting Horvat’s approval. 

“We were able to get it done, quite frankly, first thing in the morning,” Lamoriello said. “When he came in, he had a conversation with his representative and we signed.” 

Horvat, who had extension talks with the Canucks stall out since the summer, leading to his departure from Vancouver, cast the demeanor of a player at peace with his new surroundings. 

“My wife and I talked about this place a lot and this place, honestly, was probably in my top five right from the beginning, just from what I heard of it,” he said. “Obviously the team, the organization, and then obviously I don’t know the area too, too well. 

“I can’t wait to know it for eight years.”