Trade chatter apparently intensifying in Vancouver, this time around Conor Garland
The rumour mill is spinning and the chatter is starting to pick up. The latest piece of information is coming from Vancouver and, while most would anticipate that any news coming out of Vancouver would relate to J.T. Miller, this piece of info pertains to a player with a lot more term on his deal.
Per The Vancouver Sun's Patrick Johnson, talks of the Canucks potentially moving American forward Conor Garland has been picking up. Garland, who was acquired by the Canucks from the Arizona Coyotes this summer has 4 years remaining on his deal after this season and carries a $4.95M cap hit.
Garland is not the biggest player around, standing at just 5'10 and weighing in at just 165 lbs, but what he lacks in size, he more than makes up for with his heart and his intensity. Garland does not shy away from playing in the dirty areas and has a real nose for the net.
The 25-year-old winger is a former 20-goal scorer in 2019-20 and will have a chance to reach that mark again in 2021-22, having already notched 14 goals and 30 points in 50 games with the Canucks this season.
In a lot of ways, Garland could be viewed as this year's Blake Coleman, and could be of interest to a number of teams looking to bolster their top-6 for the playoffs. Of course, the Canucks are not going to move him unless the price is right, but there should be no shortage of bidders if the rumours are true.
Per Johnston, the Toronto Maple Leafs are believed to be among those with the highest level of interest. The Leafs had attempted to acquire Garland from the Coyotes last season, but the Yotes ended up doing a deal with the Canucks because Vancouver also agreed to take on the contract of defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
| POLL | ||
Is Garland this year's Blake Coleman? | ||
| Yes | 30 | 28 % |
| No | 41 | 38.3 % |
| Show me the results | 36 | 33.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
