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Canucks Sign Conor Garland to 6-Year Contract Extension
Bob Frid-Imagn Images

The Vancouver Canucks announced this morning that they have signed forward Conor Garland to a six-year contract extension worth $6 million average annual value (AAV). He is heading into the final year of his five-year contract he signed in 2021, worth $4.95 million AAV. He would have been an unrestricted free agent (UFA) next offseason.

Garland was acquired by the Canucks on July 23, 2021 from the Arizona Coyotes in a package with the ninth-overall pick in the 2021 Draft (which became Dylan Guenther) and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. He has since become a staple in the Canucks lineup and a big part of the hard-working culture they are trying to build around captain Quinn Hughes.

“Conor is a core member of our hockey team and a player who has taken on a bigger role with the club the past couple seasons,” said Allvin in the team’s press release. “His commitment to us by signing this deal shows how confident he is in our organization’s vision and direction. He competes hard every day, drives play on the ice, is relentless on the forecheck and is really tough to play against. Gars is an emerging leader in the group and works extremely hard to keep himself and the players around him accountable.”

In 321 games with the Canucks, Garland has 75 goals and 195 points, and hasn’t dropped below 10 goals in any of the four seasons he’s been in Vancouver. The Coyotes’ 2015 fifth-round pick continuously defies the odds that undersized players can’t succeed in the NHL and now has 122 goals and 291 points in 485 games split between the Coyotes and Canucks.

This article first appeared on The Hockey Writers and was syndicated with permission.

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