Vancouver Canucks appear to be closing in on Conor Garland trade
The Vancouver Canucks are feeling the pressure of the salary cap. To relieve some of the cap pressure, Vancouver is in the trade market, with winger Conor Garland appearing like the odd man out with the Canucks.
On Saturday's nights coverage of Hockey Night in Canada, Elliotte Friedman dropped a pretty significant update on the Canucks' winger. Per Friedman, Garland's camp has been granted permission to speak with other teams regarding a potential trade.
In his first year with the Canucks, Garland racked up a respectable 52 points in 77 games, but saw a bit of a drop off in production last season, reaching just 46 points in 81 games. With a near $5M cap hit through 2025-26, the Canucks reportedly tried to move Garland before the season began, but were unsuccessful in their efforts.
Jeff Marek dropped this info on the 32 Thoughts Podcast, saying the Columbus Blue Jackets have interest in Garland with expiring contract Jack Roslovic going the other way in a potential deal.
Both Roslovic and Garland are similar ages 26, and 27 respectively, both have put up similar point totals in the 40-50 range the past two seasons. Garland is signed for two more seasons compared to Roslovic who will be a pending UFA at the end of the season. Roslovic has a cap hit of $4M compared to Garland's $4.95M cap hit.
It has been rumored that general manager Patrik Allvin is hoping to trade Garland for an upgrade on he blue line, If Allvin is unsuccessful in this, Roslovic could be the next best option. Roslovic's expiring contract could come in handy for Vancouver, when trying to re-sign franchise centerman Elias Pettersson who will be an RFA at the end of the season.
Today David Pagnotta provided the following update.
This seems like it will come to a head sooner than later and Garland may finally get his fresh start.
| POLL | ||
Do you see a Columbus Vancouver trade for Garland happening? | ||
| Yes, cap hit works I would take if for Van | 53 | 38.7 % |
| No, need a better player than Roslovic | 41 | 29.9 % |
| Garland will be traded, just not Columbus | 43 | 31.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
