The Chicago Blackhawks have not been very active on the transaction front since the 2023 NHL Draft. That said, it appears general manager Kyle Davidson is once again listening in on conversations that other teams are willing to have. Now that one week has passed in the NHL season, there are a handful of teams who are very much still in salary cap trouble. One of those teams is the Vancouver Canucks, who Kyle Davidson has dealt with before for the exact same reason.
Before the 2022-23 season, Davidson moved defenseman Riley Stillman to the Canucks for forward Jason Dickinson and a 2nd-round draft pick. Now, Davidson is reportedly poking around with the Canucks regarding the availability of forward Conor Garland, who the Canucks reportedly granted permission to seek a trade. The Canucks reportedly want to clear up $1-2 million in a potential trade.
Garland was involved in the massive Oliver Ekman-Larsson deal during the summer of 2021. Soon after, Garland was signed to a five-year, $24.75 million deal to remain in Vancouver. Now, in the third year of his deal, the Canucks are ready to move on.
Now, why would the Blackhawks be interested? Well, the deal will likely include a sweetener as long as the Blackhawks are willing to take on the entire contract. In addition, Davidson has one thing that almost no other team has over the next three years, and that is cap space. Beyond the 2025-26 season, only Seth Jones is under contract with the team.
Garland's $4.95 million cap hit per season is easily affordable for the Blackhawks. In addition, they'd be adding a player who has put up more than 45 points in consecutive seasons. With a limited amount of proven scorers on the roster, Garland's addition wouldn't hurt the team by any means.
What the cost would be for Garland's contract is still unknown. However, assuming it is treated strictly as a salary dump, the Blackhawks would likely get the better end of the deal by bringing in Garland. We've seen Kyle Davidson weaponize his cap space before, who says he won't do it again?
If a trade is to occur, it will likely happen in the next week. The Canucks are desperate for the cap relief and the sooner they can make a move happen, the sooner they'll have flexibility to adjust their roster accordingly. If the Hawks are involved, it means Davidson has likely pulled off another trade heist.
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