The Columbus Blue Jackets and Vancouver Canucks connected on a trade just hours before the NHL trade deadline. Conor Garland was the subject of many trade rumors and was finally moved from Vancouver to Columbus. The last-place Canucks received a second-round pick and a third-round pick in return. How did both sides fare in that deal?
The Blue Jackets looked like sure-fire sellers when they were 19-19-7 on January 11. That is when they fired Dean Evason and brought Rick Bowness out of retirement to man the bench. Since then, they are 13-2-1 and creeping up on the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Canucks, on the other hand, have the worst record in the NHL and are selling off anything and everything at the deadline.
Which team won this trade? Will Garland be a good fit on the Blue Jackets?
The Blue Jackets get a piece for the future
Trading for Garland was a more complicated process than the traditional deadline deal. Before this season, he signed a six-year extension worth $6 million per season with a no-trade clause to stay in Vancouver. That trade protection does not take effect until July 1, so he technically did not need to approve this deal. But it would be in Columbus's best interest to make sure he wants to be there long-term.
The Blue Jackets gave up a 2028 second-round pick and a 2026 third-round pick to get Garland. In a vacuum, that is a lot to pay for a player with 26 points in 50 games this season. But with the context of what other players have gone for at the deadline, it is not a crazy price. Garland is a winger, which naturally drives down the price. That helped out the Blue Jackets here.
The Blue Jackets get a B- for this trade. Garland will help their depth, and they still have their first-round pick to move if they want to land a bigger fish. But adding $6 million to their salary cap for the next six seasons won't help moving forward. They reportedly want to keep Boone Jenner, Mason Marchment, and Charlie Coyle, who are all free agents at the end of this season. That just got slightly harder.
The Canucks get out from underneath a mistake
It looked like the Canucks were building something when they went to the second round of the playoffs in 2024. But everything that has happened in the two years since has proven that as a fluke. The alleged JT Miller-Elias Pettersson beef forced the trade of the former, Quinn Hughes was shipped out, and now Garland is gone. There was no sense in having a player with a no-trade clause on their books as the rebuild begins.
The Canucks got some solid assets back for Garland, which could help them move up in the draft, trade for some cheaper veterans, or add to their prospect pipeline. They also picked up two picks by trading Tyler Myers to the Dallas Stars, and could have more coming in the next few hours. Only Pettersson and Boeser are left from the playoff core, and there is no guarantee that either of them is on the team long-term.
The Canucks needed a change at this NHL trade deadline, and they took their last opportunity to trade Garland before the new contract kicks in. They get an A- for this deal, as it would have been very easy for them to take no as an answer from all of the teams scared of the contract. They pushed through that hurdle and were able to get some nice assets back for him.
