Player Discussion Conor Garland

[Nucker101]

5v5 goal leaders:
Garland (11)
Miller (9)
Pod (8)

5v5 primary assist leaders:
Garland (11)
Hughes (9)
Horvat (6)


Garland is 25 years old

 

[ahmon]

If I had to name a 4th player after the core of Hughes/Demko/Petey, its him. One of my favourite players on the team and hes only been here like half a season.

Smart, 100% effort, and skilled.

 

[F A N]

Garland is an interesting piece. He's not being utilized on the PP and probably isn't much of a weapon, but 5 v 5 the stats prove that he's been our most productive forward and this isn't a one off. I really like him, but given the price we paid to acquire him, if the team wants to go another direction I'm fine with that too.

 

[Mangosteen]

Was surprised to see his name in trade rumours. Do you guys know why he may be traded or is this just media smoke and mirrors?

 

[rypper]

Was surprised to see his name in trade rumours. Do you guys know why he may be traded or is this just media smoke and mirrors?

Basically nobody wants the trash players on bad contracts. Garland has been good this year (streaky but good) and is on a good deal, so his name is popping up.

 

[Bertuzzzi44]

He’s been our 4th best player this year behind Demko, Miller & Hughes. Very crafty, feisty and skilled.

 

[credulous]

he's reasonably productive and his contract is good but he's the kind of player teams think can't produce in the playoffs or play in tight situations. he also can't really contribute on special teams so his value is kind of limited. i think the team should hold onto him but if he moves it's fine

 

[ahmon]

simply put, don't trade him, makes no sense, and we would have a hard time to find a player like this.

 

[Betelgeuse]

I have read frequently that he has little to offer on the PP. Can anyone please elaborate on this? Unfortunately I haven't seen too many Nucks games this year.

Appreciate it.

 

[credulous]

I have read frequently that he has little to offer on the PP. Can anyone please elaborate on this? Unfortunately I haven't seen too many Nucks games this year.

Appreciate it.

he's good at creating time and space for himself but this doesn't really matter on the power play where you already have time and space. his shot is only average and he's too small to consistently win board battles. he doesn't offer much on the power play compared to players who rely on their release or their power to score

 

[theguardianII]

I have read frequently that he has little to offer on the PP. Can anyone please elaborate on this? Unfortunately I haven't seen too many Nucks games this year.

Appreciate it.

IMO he is over paid. There was no reason for Benning to offer that much money.
He was making the league minimum and a RFA, just over 100 games in 3 years
Too small, Bruce has mentioned it, size.

Get whatever they can, hopefully a 2023 2nd and some late pick, salary dump!
No reason for all the loyalty, good on this team means nothing, this is not a good team.

 

[F A N]

I have read frequently that he has little to offer on the PP. Can anyone please elaborate on this? Unfortunately I haven't seen too many Nucks games this year.

Appreciate it.

He doesn't have a dangerous shot and he lacks size. So he's not particularly dangerous. That's not to say that he can't be a PP producer.

IMO he is over paid. There was no reason for Benning to offer that much money.
He was making the league minimum and a RFA, just over 100 games in 3 years

There were plenty of reasons for Benning to give him that contract - certainly inline with many people's projections.

 

[Grantham]

IMO he is over paid. There was no reason for Benning to offer that much money.
He was making the league minimum and a RFA, just over 100 games in 3 years
Too small, Bruce has mentioned it, size.

Get whatever they can, hopefully a 2023 2nd and some late pick, salary dump!
No reason for all the loyalty, good on this team means nothing, this is not a good team.

Why what a strange take. After a game where I thought he was our best player too.

Tampa is a two time champion full of small forwards. Their defensemen are huge though and really tough.

 

[Misko]

Honestly Garland really should be considered the 4th best player on the team behind Petey/Hughes/Demko. He seems to play well with Petey, is all grit and effort, is fast, has smart vision, finds good passes, has a deceiving and accurate shot, competes far above his size in the corners, and has the type of grit in his game that makes him efficient at drawing penalties and getting under competitions skin.

The reality is that these are all attributes that make him a highly appealing trade target for a variety of competing teams. He's likely our most appealing player along with Miller and maybe Motte. I'd really like us to keep Garland though and retool elsewhere if possible, he's young and good enough to be a great piece for us for years to come.

 

[kanucks25]

Size and speed are of course important attributes, but mean nothing if you don't have IQ and skill.

Look at Justin Bailey... great physical tools but has zero idea what to do when he has the puck. You can list off a thousand guys that had great speed or great size but were nothing players.

They are both inputs, and mean pretty much nothing when it comes to performance and production.

Now if he disappears in the playoffs because he's afraid of and/or worn down by the physicality, then you can say size matters. But until we actually see that evidence, I'm fairly confident he would perform just fine in the playoffs given his gumption, feistiness and competitiveness.

 

[mriswith]

IMO he is over paid. There was no reason for Benning to offer that much money.
He was making the league minimum and a RFA, just over 100 games in 3 years
Too small, Bruce has mentioned it, size.

Get whatever they can, hopefully a 2023 2nd and some late pick, salary dump!
No reason for all the loyalty, good on this team means nothing, this is not a good team.

 

[rypper]

IMO he is over paid. There was no reason for Benning to offer that much money.
He was making the league minimum and a RFA, just over 100 games in 3 years
Too small, Bruce has mentioned it, size.

Get whatever they can, hopefully a 2023 2nd and some late pick, salary dump!
No reason for all the loyalty, good on this team means nothing, this is not a good team.

Uh, pardon? What do you think he was going to get paid?

39 points in 68 games, then the next season he did it in 19 less games. You're gambling on him building on this progression to see what he can do over 82. His contract buys 3 UFA years as well.

 

[PuckMunchkin]

Was surprised to see his name in trade rumours. Do you guys know why he may be traded or is this just media smoke and mirrors?

Yeah.

Like some have said.

The canucks currently have very few players on effective contracts. Most players signed here were negative value the day they signed and have not upped their value since.

Garland is one of the few players who could be viewed as not part of the core we build around and who is outperforming his contract.

 

[God]

I have read frequently that he has little to offer on the PP. Can anyone please elaborate on this? Unfortunately I haven't seen too many Nucks games this year.

Appreciate it.

Contrary to what others are saying, it really depends on your powerplay. If your team's powerplay is one that focuses on chances in tight, he might actually be good. Vancouver's powerplay is basically setting up Pettersson for a one-timer or getting it down low to Boeser/Horvat for a slot chance. Garland is extremely good on the boards in tight situations. He cycles very well, and if he were born 5 years earlier, would've been a perfect linemate for the Sedins.

 

[VanJack]

If they're going to deal Garland, they better be getting a good package in return.

He's only 25 and just signed an affordable four year with Vancouver. And you know what you're getting from him night after night. Never takes a shift off, and singlehandedly drives offense no matter what line he's on.

Frankly I was shocked that Arizona basically gave up on him. Garland is kind of player you win with, going forward.

 

[cc]

He's a good enough player to keep but I don't think he's looked completely comfortable on the team just yet.
He still doesn't look like he has developed chemistry with anybody on the team right now. When he is skating around with the puck, his linemates seem to not know what he wants to do with it most of the time.

 

[sting101]

Last 2 yrs

56pts per 82
33rd in 5v5 scoring
30th in p/60 5v5

He's a offensive catalyst on a bargain contract not sure why we would want to move on here.

 

[rypper]

Plus he SPINS!

 

[logan5]

I have read frequently that he has little to offer on the PP. Can anyone please elaborate on this? Unfortunately I haven't seen too many Nucks games this year.

Appreciate it.

It's too bad he doesn't get more power play time, because I would say he is the best on the team at gaining the zone in a pp situation, and this is a major problem for the 1st unit. He doesn't have a hard shot, but it is tricky and he catches goalies off guard. He is also able to make lightning fast moves and quickly get an accurate pass away, so his vision on the pp is 1st unit level. Not sure why he isn't given more of a chance with the 1st unit.

 

[VanJack]

The thing that's really underrated with Garland, is that he'll shoot from anywhere. He's constantly trying to get goaltenders napping with short-side shots or wraparound attempts.

And his work around the net in the offensive zone often results in the kind of greasy goals that you have to get in the playoffs. If some playoff team acquires him from the Canucks, he's capable of being a 'difference-maker' in a seven game series.

But really hope the Canucks keep him, unless some other team is prepared to blow it out of the water with a deal they can't turn down.