Canucks Dangling Garland, Islanders Inquiry

The New York Islanders inquired about Vancouver Canucks forward Conor Garland before the start of the season.

Under general manager Lou Lamoriello, the New York Islanders identity has been a hard-nosed defensive team that does the "little things" to win games. 

If you think back to every acquisition Lamoriello has made with New York, it's been for a player like that: Bo Horvat, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Kyle Palmieri, Pierre Engvall, Hudson Fasching.

Another player that plays to that style while also providing offense is Vancouver Canucks forward Connor Garland. 

The 27-year-old forward, who the Canucks acquired back in the summer of 2021 along with Oliver Ekman-Larsson from Arizona, is a grinding forward -- a pest to play against -- who has averaged 49 points over his first two seasons in Vancouver. 

Garland requested a trade ahead of the start of the season, with two years remaining on a five-year deal that carries a cap hit of $4.95 million. 

He also changed his representation ahead of opening night, and the Canucks have allowed Garland and his camp to talk to teams to help facilitate a deal. 

The sixth-year NHLer barely played in the Canucks first two games of 2023-24 (9:52 TOI, 9:42 TOI) but did see his role increase, playing 15:09 TOI in their loss to the Flyers Tuesday night. 

Kevin Weekes reported Wednesday afternoon that the Canucks are willing to retain 30 percent of Garland's contract, which means his cap hit could get as low as $3.465 million.  

With Mathew Barzal deciding to play left wing and doing quite well in that spot, the Islanders can now bring in a right winger if they feel that Simon Holmstrom isn't the answer. 

Holmstrom has played very well in the Islanders' first two games of the season, so there's not an immediate need.

But, per a source, the Islanders did inquire about Garland once he made the agent switch. 

The Islanders currently have $534,035 in cap space. If Garland came aboard, that would likely mean Holmstrom and his $863,333 would be sent to Bridgeport, giving the Islanders $1.397 million in available space, needing to clear at least $2 million and change.

A third team would need to be involved to take on some of the cap hit for this to work.

The Islanders focused heavily on becoming a faster team, and Garland would be another speedy piece to add to the equation. The Islanders wouldn't need to play him in a top-six role because he likely would thrive alongside Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Hudson Fasching, with Anders Lee returning to the top line.