Conor Garland, a winger for the Vancouver Canucks, changed agents to begin the season. This and the fact that the Canucks give him permission to seek a trade, has sparked conversation about where he is going to end up. It seems very likely that a trade will be happening well before the deadline this season whether the team is in the playoff race or not.
The plan for the Canucks is to free up some cap space on the wing (reportedly $1-2 million) and get a defenseman back in return. Elliotte Friedman reported that the Columbus Blue Jackets, Winnipeg Jets, and Nashville Predators are the teams most interested, but there are more. Let’s dive into why these three would have the most interest in Garland despite his $4.95 million AAV cap hit for three more seasons.
Columbus Blue Jackets
The Blue Jackets seem to fit the bill perfectly when it comes to having defensemen to spare. They have been looking to move someone ever since the team brought in Ivan Provorov and Damon Severson. Last season showed the Blue Jackets that they have lots of defensemen in the system that can play. They could also use a bit of help up front. With a surplus of defensemen, Andrew Peeke or Jake Bean would be the most likely players on the move.
The Canucks could very much find use for both of them and it would allow the team to free up the $1-2 million they’re hoping for. The Blue Jackets get some term on a winger who can produce a good amount of points. He adds the type of experience they need as well. A trade of this kind would definitely help out both sides and I wouldn’t be shocked if it happens in a couple of weeks once Zach Werenski is back from the IR.
Winnipeg Jets
Now that the Jets have locked up Connor Hellebuyck and Mark Scheifele to long-term deals, this keeps the Stanley Cup window open and there becomes desperation to build a contender very quickly. This means the Jets can’t wait for players in their system to develop. They have to trade for pieces like Garland. Now that two big pieces, Blake Wheeler and Pierre-Luc Dubois, are gone, the team will be trying to figure out who fits in best where.
Adding Garland to the middle-six would make the Jets a whole lot more dangerous. This would likely push Mason Appleton to the fourth line and the Jets can play with Nikolaj Ehlers, Nino Niederreiter, Alex Iafallo, and Garland on the second and third line wings. Winnipeg also has some defensemen they would like to move out. While players like Brendan Dillon and Dylan DeMelo are on expiring contracts and will become UFAs after the season, Nate Schmidt and Logan Stanley are who they would really like to get rid of. The money wouldn’t work with Stanley and Schmidt has another year. This team will still likely try to figure things out to acquire more help for their top-nine.
Nashville Predators
The Predators have the most cap space of the three teams. On top of that, they have turned over a lot of their lineup. Many young players are getting shots up front, but they still have the core pieces to be competitive this season, especially with Juuse Saros in net. The Predators arguably have too many strong defensemen on their team. They have always been a team that is strong defensively and produces great defensemen. The team will continue to be forced to healthy scratch Dante Fabbro, Alexandre Carrier, or Jeremy Lauzon moving forward if nothing is done.
Options for the Canucks to get back in a trade would be one of Tyson Barrie, Fabbro, or Carrier. I think they would be happy with all three and would free up the necessary cap space they’re looking for with any of them. The Predators could surely use some more scoring help and they have not decided to rebuild, so they need to add pieces.
