Vancouver Canucks Give Connor Garland a Contract Extension

Vancouver Canucks Sign Conor Garland to Extension

Speculation on who among the Canucks forwards would leave has swirled wildly over the past few seasons. Every name including Elias Pettersson has been mentioned at one time or another as their obvious need for cap space and equally obvious excess of wingers continued.

The 29-year-old Garland was in his seventh NHL season and his fourth as a Canuck. He was the prize return for Vancouver taking on the final six years of Oliver Ekman-Larsson‘s contract. That’s among other parts of a complex, astoundingly high-risk deal that just didn’t pay off for Vancouver.

He’s provided good secondary scoring for a team that needed it. There was worry that he wasn’t a fit on the roster. However, Patrik Allvin has decided to commit to him long-term.

He was given permission to seek other venues, according to a report by Elliott Friedman last season. However, those trade rumours are seemingly gone at the moment.

What This Means

Garland is a quick, evasive forward who is very good at holding the puck when he has to. He has an underrated tenacity, and never plays a small or soft game. Garland can play either wing in the top six without losing efficiency, but that’s not where he fit best in Vancouver.

While he’s not particularly fast, he is very quick and hard to stop. That and his passing abilities make Garland a big threat in the offensive zone. He’s got good vision, an underrated shot.

Vancouver has already done some work at the start of free agency with Thatcher Demko getting a contract extension. Some thought Garland would move on, but he’s staying put in Cascadia.