The Vancouver Canucks Garland problem was forgotten for at least one more night on Wednesday. An 8-1 home win has a way of doing that to most issues a team has. But that doesn’t mean the issue has vanished.
Triumph for Canucks, Garland
It has been long known in Canucksland that Conor Garland is being shopped around the league. Though a skilled player, “finding the right fit” has been a recurring theme in his professional tenure. It’s not entirely his fault, either. Consider he broke into the league with the Arizona Coyotes when they couldn’t provide much scoring support.
“Play for yourself or die” isn’t the best motto in pro hockey, but the team was in chaos at every level. There weren’t a whole heck of a lot of options, frankly. Plus side? He really can play with pretty much anyone. On the downside, he doesn’t really change his play to match anyone.
Don’t take this to mean he doesn’t work hard! He churns out there, jumping into the slot, going for the puck against the walls, and holding off all comers. Less an “angry little elf” out there and more a demonic imp in personality. You will find few players who can match his work level.
And it looks like he’s up for it again this season. A fine example is in the Canucks first goal from their season opener. Garland carried the puck from his own end and worked a give-and-go with Elias Pettersson, flicking the puck home to finish. It’s the kind of play that demands attention, kicking off Vancouver’s steamrolling of the Edmonton Oilers.
Events of the ice, on the other hand, are hard to ignore.
Here But Not Here
The day before the Vancouver Canucks home opener, it “got out” that Garland’s agent had been granted permission to find a deal. We put that in quotes because it’s the kind of information that doesn’t become public accidentally.
Garland didn’t just switch agents a few days ago – he SWITCHED AGENTS. He went from Peter Cooney, who outside Garland has very little presence in hockey, to Judd Moldaver. Moldaver’s stable includes Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews.
Wasserman Hockey, whom Moldaver works for, has negotiated over a billion dollars in current contracts. This isn’t a “casual dabbler” agency.
The Canucks Garland has been a rock-solid contributor, getting 19 goals and 52 points in his first year and 17 goals and 46 points in his second. Of those 36 goals, just three have been on the power play. Those 33 goals at even strength are among league leaders over the past two seasons. He doesn’t need special team time to score.
That, ironically enough, may be part of the problem. While he has a dozen power play assists, he very rarely gets consideration for the first unit. During the home opener, Garland played about 40 seconds on the power play despite opportunities. In fact, he played the least of any Vancouver Canuck – below 10 minutes, despite being down a forward.
It might not be all that much of a surprise, perhaps, given he replaced Ilya Mikheyev. Lining up with Pettersson and Andrei Kuzmenko is a position most wingers would kill for, but the blowout win short-circuited the usual lineup play. Since Garland doesn’t get a lot of special teams play, he didn’t match the ice of either linemate.
That’s the sort of thing that really highlights just how awkward Garland’s time in Vancouver has been. Even when everything’s going right, he still feels like the odd man out.
Stating the Obvious
Conor Garland is a good player. It’s an easy statement to make and an easier one to defend. You can either watch him play or simply look at his statistics. He is, by all expectations, a 20-goal and 50-point scorer. He’s got very good possession numbers despite playing for some miserable teams. And he’s a blast to watch.
He also came to town under something of a cloud, being part of the Oliver Ekman-Larsson trade that doomed Jim Benning. It’s nothing that’s his fault, but it still exists. Speaking of Benning, Garland received a lovely offer of five years at just under $5 million per year. And that’s proving to be a bit of a hardship for all concerned.
With a glut of wingers on the Canucks Garland is not getting the time he should. At least, going by his salary or cap hit. He shouldn’t just be a middle-six guy, he should be in the top two lines and eating as much ice time as they can serve him. But that’s not going to happen here.
However, there is a team out there that not only needs scoring among their forwards but has an excess of right-side defencemen. Heck, they have at least one young guy they should really give a good, long look, too.
They also have plenty of salary cap space and more than a little bit of desperation after missing the playoffs for three years running.
Hey, Columbus Blue Jackets? Let’s make a deal!
Main Photo Credit: Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports
