Vancouver Canucks winger Conor Garland continues to generate speculation in the NHL rumour mill over the past week. Here's the latest from the weekend.
The 2023-24 NHL regular season had barely started before Conor Garland became a player of interest in the NHL trade market.
Following a report last week that the Vancouver Canucks were allowing his agent to speak with other teams, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman indicated on Saturday that several clubs are interested in the 27-year-old winger. According to Friedman, the Columbus Blue Jackets, Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets are among the interested parties. He added that the Canucks want to free up between $1 million and $2 million in salary cap space and are interested in getting a defenceman in return. This isn't the first time there's been talk of the Canucks' desire to bolster their blue line. Moving Garland and his $4.95-million annual average salary through 2025-26 could help them address that issue and perhaps provide salary cap flexibility for the remainder of the season. The Blue Jackets could be a fit here, given the logjam on their blue line, especially on the right side. It was reported last week they were talking with teams about moving a rear guard with Adam Boqvist and Andrew Peeke mentioned as trade candidates. With more than $3.2 million in cap space, the Blue Jackets would have to shed some salary in the deal to take on Garland's cap hit if the Canucks prove unwilling to retain part of it. The same goes for the Winnipeg Jets and their $2.38 million in cap space. The Nashville Predators, meanwhile, have $7.9 million in cap room. That's more than enough to absorb Garland's full cap hit, but they might not have a suitable right-shot defenceman available. Dante Fabbro has surfaced in the rumour mill on occasion, but he's currently skating on their top defence pairing.
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