Conor Garland trade destinations: Four proposals for Canucks to consider

It hardly broke the internet when Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman broke the news that Vancouver’s Conor Garland was drawing interest from multiple teams across the league. 

It was well known that Garland, who recently hired a new high-powered agent in Judd Moldaver of Wasserman, had been given permission by the Canucks to seek a trade. It’s also widely recognized that the diminutive Garland is a reliable secondary scoring threat in any scheme. 

What remains to be seen, however, is just how much the price tag that Garland comes with ($4.95 million AAV for the next three seasons) will affect his trade return. 

It’s largely that contract, another vestigial feature of former GM Jim Benning’s regime, that has made Garland the odd man out for a Canucks team with just $162,500 of breathing room beneath the cap. 

At the time of his acquisition from Arizona, Garland was fresh out of his rookie deal and looked to be on the cusp of breaking out — he had just posted 39 points in 49 games during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season on an objectively bad Coyotes team — and Benning bet big on the five-foot-10, 165-pound winger taking the next step. 

While that $4.95-million promise hasn’t entirely materialized, Garland has established himself as a dependable secondary threat with his above-average playmaking and finishing ability, skills that make him a valuable asset in the eyes of many. 

Shopping Garland around makes a lot of sense for Vancouver — their needs are defensive depth and financial manoeuvrability according to Friedman, and the wing is easily their greatest indulgence: Brock Boeser, Andrei Kuzmenko, Anthony Beauvillier, Ilya Mikheyev, and Garland all make around $5 million. 

The Canucks are reportedly willing to retain up to 30 per cent of Garland’s contract to facilitate a deal. They want to create $1-million-to-$2-million in cap space and get a defenceman in return, ideally somebody who would allow them to break up Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek to allow Hronek to anchor the second pair. 

Complicating who the Canucks target is the potential return of UFA Ethan Bear, whom Vancouver is reported to have an interest in bringing back as he continues his rehab from off-season shoulder injury.

So, where will Garland land, and what can the Canucks expect to get back for him? Let’s take a look at some of the rumoured destinations: 

WINNIPEG JETS 

Winnipeg was one of the first teams that came knocking when Garland officially hit the trading block, and they look like a good match — they’ve got a backlog on the backend, $1.6 million in cap space, and without a doubt would benefit from some scoring punch outside of their top line, especially in light of the recent injury to Gabe Vilardi. They also have a habit of acquiring players who have term left on their contract. 

The Jets have several prospects who impressed during camp and the pre-season, including their smooth-skating 2019 first-rounder Ville Heinola and Declan Chisholm, who put up 43 points in 59 games last season in the AHL, plus four more in five playoff games. 

But at present, Nate Schmidt’s declining play and hefty price tag make him functionally unmoveable, creating a logjam on the back end. At some point, the Jets are going to have to move off of somebody — either standing pat with their defence corps and shipping off prospects to address other areas of need, or making space for their homegrown talent. 

None of the Jets’ expendable NHLers make sense cap-wise for the Canucks, besides perhaps Logan Stanley (who would be a spectacle next to fellow giant Tyler Myers), so they would have to hope that one of their intriguing prospects would be enough to get Vancouver to bite. 

Potential trade: 

Vancouver receives: Declan Chisholm, Mason Appleton 

Winnipeg receives: Garland (Canucks retain 15 per cent)

NASHVILLE PREDATORS 

Another early suitor in the Garland sweepstakes, rumour has it that Nashville isn’t as keen to make a deal anymore. 

The Canucks reportedly had their heart set on Dante Fabbro, a 25-year-old right-shot defenceman from Coquitlam, B.C. who’s been getting top-pairing minutes beside Roman Josi — in other words, the full package. Fabbro is on a one-year, $2.5 million contract after which he’ll become an RFA, and the Preds have an envious $7.6 million in cap space at the moment. 

However, with the recent injury to Luke Schenn, Fabbro has become far less expendable. Schenn is out of commission for four-to-six weeks with a lower body injury, and Nashville made off-season moves that suggest it’s trying to be competitive this year — do they trust a prospect like Jake Livingston to step up and work meaningful minutes after playing five games when his college season was over last spring? 

While this is approaching a best-case scenario for the Canucks, they’ll likely have to wait for Nashville’s defence to heal up before this could go through. Does Patrick Allvin have the patience to get his guy? 

Potential trade: 

Vancouver receives: Dante Fabbro 

Nashville receives: Conor Garland

WASHINGTON CAPITALS 

Washington would love to have someone like Garland on their side right about now. It’s early, but the Caps rank 30th in the league in shots per game (24.8), 32nd in goals per game (1.25), and they’ve got the worst goal differential in the competitive Eastern Conference. 

They can’t afford to fall behind. It’s also a question whether the Caps can even afford the asking price of an NHL-caliber defenceman for Garland when they’re giving up 33 shots a night and have $0 in cap space, but GM Brian MacLellan has been resolute in his desire for a top-six forward. 

The Capitals have a glut of defensive prospects, although much like the Jets, getting a deal done here would require the Canucks to compromise on their objective to land somebody who can slot into an NHL role when he steps off the plane. 

Factor in that Washington would likely need Vancouver to retain as much salary as organizationally possible on top of getting a third team involved to cover most of what’s left over and you’re left wondering if it’s worth the effort for the Canucks. 

Potential trade: 

Vancouver receives: Justin Barron 

Washington receives: Conor Garland 

Montreal receives: Anthony Mantha, Washington's choice of 2024 or 2025 first-round pick

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS 

Columbus is one of the most closely linked teams with Vancouver on the Garland front, and for good reason. They’ve got the cap space ($3.387 million currently), a wealth of right-handed defencemen, and a need for scoring wingers. 

Friedman used some innuendo on Hockey Night in Canada to imply that the Canucks were interested in Andrew Peeke in particular. Peeke is interesting — his reputation is that of a shut-down guy, but on a brutal Blue Jackets squad last year he had a team-low minus-41. He has strong one-on-one defending abilities, but got exposed by other teams' top lines in a bigger role last season. 

Defencemen are notorious for taking longer to develop, and Peeke is still only 25 and signed through 2025-26 at a reasonable $2.75 million AAV. He was third in the league in blocked shots last season with 197 and threw 180 hits while averaging 21:15 of ice time across 80 games, which gives credence to the idea that he’s willing to play a stay-at-home game that could complement somebody like Quinn Hughes. 

However, he wasn’t a minus-41 for nothing. His lack of defensive zone awareness was alarming at times, and might be a contributing factor to why he’s losing a positional battle to Erik Gudbranson. Garland’s contract isn’t ideal, but this is far from a straight salary dump — the Blue Jackets might be the ones throwing in a sweetener here. 

Peeke could provide good minutes in a sheltered role for the Canucks right away, and if he can clean up his game in his own end to actualize his shut-down potential then this could be a respectable move for Vancouver, especially considering the $2.2 million in cap savings. 

Potential trade: 

Vancouver receives: Andrew Peeke, third-round pick in 2024 (via LAK) 

Columbus receives: Conor Garland