Connor Garland Unloaded in Columbus

 Elliotte Friedman revealed today that Conor Garland had been traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for two draft picks, a 2028 2nd and a 3rd in 2026. 

"Conor Garland, October 2021 (cropped)" by Northwest is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Garland has had interest from 8 teams the past few days. Considering how many teams were interested, one would assume Garland could generate a bigger return for the Canucks, however, this is not how the trade played out. 

Conor Garland has a very unique profile. At 5'8" he is a tiny playmaking RW with a creative playstyle. Garland can protect the puck well using his small frame to separate himself from opposing defenders. He has flashes of speed and shifty footwork that often catches opponents off guard. Garland also has a shot not to be underestimated! 

Much like everyone on the Canucks, Garland is having a down year with only only 26 points in 50 games. 0.52 p/gp is a bit of a step down from his previous seasons where he played at 0.62 p/gp in 2024-2025, and 0.68 p/gp all the way back in 2021-2022. 

The Canucks have been successful moving on from from players that are too old to fit the timeline as of recent, having traded 30-year-old Kiefer Sherwood, 36-year-old Tyler Myers, and now 29-year-old Conor Garland. 

Here is every addition and subtraction the Canucks have made since the start of the season:

IN: 

• Lukas Reichel (LW)
• Marco Rossi (C)
• Liam Ohgren (LW)
• Zeev Buium (D)
• Cole Clayton (D)
• Jack Thompson (D)
• 2026 1st-Round Pick
• 2026 2nd-Round Pick
• 2026 3rd-Round Pick
• 2027 2nd-Round Pick
• 2027 2nd-Round Pick
• 2028 2nd-Round Pick
• 2029 4th-Round Pick

OUT:

• Quinn Hughes (D)
• Conor Garland (RW)
• Tyler Myers (D) (50% Retained)
• Kiefer Sherwood (LW)
• Jett Woo (D)
• 2027 4th-Round Pick

While the Canucks certainly haven't had the season they were envisioning at the beginning of the year, they have done well to symbolize the start of a true rebuild. The Canucks have stockpiled solid draft capital and one can only hope that they continue to focus on the long-term future of the organization, though many are rightfully skeptical of management's ability to do so.