"Glad to be here": Garland says Canucks trade request never happened
Conor Garland says an early-season rumour involving the Vancouver Canucks forward requesting a trade was false all along.
The 28-year-old is playing in his third season with the Canucks, something that seemed unlikely back in September when trade rumours were swirling around Garland. At the time, there were reports that Garland’s camp had permitted the team to seek a trade.
That snowballed into fans thinking he had requested a trade away from the team. Garland appeared on last night’s edition of After Hours on Hockey Night in Canada to clear the air.
“I’ve tried pretty hard to squash that ’cause I was disappointed it got reported that way,” Garland explained. “As a player, you hate to be a distraction, that’s the one thing you never want to be… that’s how it is when you’re in a Canadian market.
“I’m very glad to be here. In the summer, we knew this team was going to be a good hockey club, and we’re really excited about where we are.”
The Canucks should be ecstatic about where they are in the standings this late in the season. They have a 45-18-8 record and 98 points with 11 regular season games left. That has them 10 points up on the Edmonton Oilers for the Pacific Division crown and tied with the New York Rangers for the President’s Trophy for the top team in the entire NHL.
Garland has been a key part of the team’s success, scoring 15 goals and 36 points in 71 games. It may be a bit of a downgrade from his previous season’s point totals, but his ability to play up and down the lineup has been invaluable.
He’s just happy to see that the city of Vancouver is once again embracing its team.
“It’s fun when the team is winning,” said Garland. “You can feel the excitement, you see more hats, more jerseys in the streets, and it’s infectious.”
Garland and the Canucks are not done by any means. They still have a bit of season left to go and will have to play hard right to the end if they want to stay at the top of the league standings.
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