Vancouver Canucks management is warming up to the idea of trading Garland: report
The trade deadline is always a high-stakes time for NHL executives.
For Patrik Allvin though, the pressure should be cranked up a few notches.
The Vancouver Canucks general manager has a chance at this trade deadline to show the fan base that he’s serious about a rebuild.
Over the last two years, the Canucks have gone from Pacific Division champions to the laughingstock of the NHL.
And during that time, Allvin wasn’t proactive in trading J.T. Miller and Quinn Hughes. He was forced into that decision due to extenuating circumstances.
Then, at last year’s deadline, he largely stood pat even though his two top goal scorers were pending unrestricted free agents.
With another trade deadline approaching, Allvin could desperately use a win.
That doesn’t just mean trading pending UFAs like Evander Kane, Teddy Blueger, and David Kampf for mid-round draft picks. An actual win for Allvin would be to signal he’s serious about a rebuild by trading a player with term.
If he’s serious about that, then the easiest player to trade is Conor Garland.
The veteran winger, who just signed a six-year extension last summer, has no trade protection before his new contract kicks in on July 1, 2026.
Previously, it was reported that the Canucks did not want to trade Garland unless an offer blew them away.
But now, their tune seems to have changed.
“I’ve got more and more people telling me that the Canucks are now open to moving Conor Garland,” CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal reported on Tuesday.
“That wasn’t the case for weeks and weeks. Teams were calling on Garland. The Canucks didn’t really want to move him, but were listening.”
“Now, there seems to be a shift.”
It does make you wonder, if the Canucks were more proactive in their efforts to trade Garland weeks ago, would they be in a better position to trade him before the deadline on Friday, March 6?
It’s been clear for a while now that this might be one of the Canucks’ last chances to move Garland. Once July 1 rolls around, the Scituate, Massachusetts, native holds all the cards when it comes to a trade.
And, unlike some of the Canucks other players with no-move clauses, such as Jake DeBrusk, Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser, Garland has started a family with roots in the city.
With just 10 days to go until the NHL trade deadline, perhaps we are seeing the end of Garland’s five-season stint in Vancouver.
What value Allvin can extract for the 30-year-old winger will be interesting to see. He’s a useful winger locked up on a reasonable $6 million per year contract until 2023. Garland is also having his worst season with the Canucks, posting just seven goals and 25 points in 46 games.