Former Blue Jackets Forward Is Thriving With New Team
This former Blue Jackets forward has found his fit with his new club.
Video Transcript
The Columbus Blue Jackets have acquired Connor Garland from the Vancouver Canucks.
The price was a third round pick in 2026 and a second round pick in 2028.
Mike, Connor Garland, very versatile player.
he now goes to the Columbus Blue Jackets from a Vancouver Canucks squad that we anticipated would be sellers at this deadline.
Yeah, and k- you know, good on Columbus for not just acquiring a rental player, and Connor Garland, you know, he's in the final year of his contract, but next year, you know, what kicks in is a six-year deal with a $6 million cap hit.
And, you know, that, that might sound pricey for a player who's only got seven goals, 26 points this year, but this year has been a a year that you just wanna throw out the window.
Not if, not only if you're Connor Garland, but if you're the entire Vancouver Canucks organization.
You know, realistically speaking, he's a 29-year-old who's probably closer to that 20, 25 goal range.
I think that's what you pencil in Connor Garland for.
But for a Blue Jackets team that is still trying to make a push for this year's playoffs but also has an eye on the future, getting a guy with term is huge, and I think he can grow with that young team.
Yeah.
Interesting, too, you know, a, a guy that can help out on the penalty kill, he could even maybe be on your second power play unit.
You know, i- if you look at Columbus, I mean, they're, they're certainly in the mix, and, you know, we've talked about this on the show before, the East isn't looking that daunting right now.
And- No the vibes in Columbus are pretty good, so, so why not add?
Yeah.
You know, ever since they made that coaching change and, that- that's been a different Blue Jackets team.
I think the young guys are getting a little bit more opportunity.
Like I said, it- it's a great move for today, but even more important for the future.
And, you know, it's always difficult to attract free agents to, you know, certain markets.
I'm not saying Columbus is one of those markets.
Not that long ago, they won the bidding war for a Johnny Gaudreau.
But, you know, to get a guy like Garland, who you're now penciling into your lineup for the next six years, at a reasonable cost, I might add.
Like, a 20 goal scorer for 6 million, I'll take that any day of the week.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, and if you look at Vancouver, obviously right now it's all about accruing assets, and getting a couple of draft picks, you know, helps in that endeavor.
we shall see what happens from here on out, but we know the Canucks are looking at another sort of rebuild, retool.
I know Vancouver fans are sick of hearing those words.
feels like it's the forever retool there.
But, you know, getting a couple of draft picks, and, and decent draft picks at that, for Connor Garland will certainly help in that, space.
So we shall see what happens from there, and we got more analysis all day long on thehockeynews.com
