Signs Point to Canucks Trading Garland Soon

The Vancouver Canucks and winger Conor Garland seem to be on the path of parting ways. Elliotte Friedman reported that the team has given Garland permission to seek a trade. The winger has also changed agents in anticipation of this. It hasn’t been the easiest task trying to trade him as he still has three years left on his contract at $4.95 million AAV. The cap hit isn’t horrible, but it also isn’t ideal.

The Canucks are trying to get themselves back in the playoffs and will have players to pay before Garland’s contract is up. They will not only need that money, the team has more than enough talent that are fighting for spots to fill the hole. The Canucks slotted him in on the third line last season for the most part. For what he is being paid, he needs to be playing higher than that. It appears as though he will get an early shot on the top line alongside Elias Pettersson and Andrei Kuzmenko to showcase his ability and boost his trade value. I think at this point the team is fine with getting less than Garland’s value if they can clear cap.

Competition & Opportunity on the Canucks

The Canucks were forced to trade Tanner Pearson a little while ago due to cap constraints. Now that they have acquired Sam Lafferty, it seems like a precursor to a Garland trade. Anthony Beauvillier played well in the top-six last season after he was acquired from the New York Islanders. For part of the season at least, he could once again take up a role on the top line if Garland is dealt.

There are players like Sheldon Dries, Nils Aman, and Jack Studnicka that have already been sent down. Along with Nils Hoglander and Vasily Podkolzin seeing limited ice time, someone deserves more opportunity. While the Canucks want to win, they also want to help their players of the future progress as well. The latter are the most important of that group.

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The Canucks are close to a place where they aren’t overpaying players and can build a competitive team. For too long they have been stuck in no man’s land between going on a playoff run and getting a high first round pick. Since they refuse to rebuild, getting better quickly is the only option they have. If Garland and his agent can help find a trade, that would work for both sides.