Serious trade talks happening between Vancouver Canucks and New York Islanders: report
The Vancouver Canucks are open for business.
Unfortunately, a lot of what they have to offer isn’t all that attractive.
However, one veteran does seem to be picking up interest.
On Tuesday, both CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal and Stefen Rosner from The Hockey News reported that trade talks are getting serious between the Islanders and Canucks.
There are serious discussions happening between #Isles & #Canucks.
Been told it's surrounding Garland. But was also told that it could be Garland +.
We'll see how this plays out.
— Stefen Rosner (@stefen_rosner) March 3, 2026
At the Canucks loss to the Dallas Stars on Monday night, an Islanders scout was at the Canucks game.
However, it wasn’t just any scout. It was their assistant general manager, Ryan Bowness.
Rosner also reported that the Islanders have shown an interest in Conor Garland previously. Of course, the Massachusetts native used to play with the Islanders’ No. 1 centre, Bo Horvat. He also reported that the Islanders “would have an interest” in the Canucks’ leading goal scorer, Drew O’Connor.
New York’s reported interest in adding some offensive firepower makes sense. They’ve allowed the fifth-fewest goals this season, but rank 20th overall in goals scored. That’s with a surprise 20-goal outburst from 18-year-old defenceman Matthew Schaefer.
The Isles have already lost Kyle Palmieri for the season, while winger Anthony Duclair has been in the doghouse of head coach Patrick Roy.
As the trade wind rumours continued to swirl, Rosner also reported that he believed Tyler Myers could be part of the deal as well.
That part of the deal could get tricky, unless a player like Duclair is coming back the other way.
Currently, the Islanders have a shade over $6 million in cap space, meaning they could stomach Garland’s $4.95 million cap hit. The 30-year-old’s cap hit increases to $6 million next season, and he’ll hold a full no-movement clause for three seasons.
Myers makes $3 million this season and next, while O’Connor gets paid $2.5 million per year until 2027.
While players like Garland, Myers, and O’Connor aren’t first-round pick worthy, it is worth noting that the Islanders are one of a handful of NHL teams with multiple first-round picks in this year’s draft. They have their own selection, along with Colorado’s first-rounder.