2023-24 Vancouver Canucks Player Review: Conor Garland
A deep dive into the 2023-24 season of Vancouver Canucks forward Conor Garland.
Welcome to the 2023-24 Vancouver Canucks player review series. Over the summer, we will be taking a look at Canucks players performances from the 2023-24 season. Today's player is Conor Garland, who had 20 goals and 47 points in 82 games.
Garland had one of the most successful seasons of his career in 2023-24. He hit the 20-goal mark for the first time since 2019-20 and received Selke votes for the first time in his career. Garland also showed strong chemistry with Dakota Joshua, and alongside Teddy Blueger, the trio made up what many considered to be the best third line in hockey.
When it comes to breaking down Garland's season, it is best to start with how he played defensively. In 2023-24, Garland set a new career high with 51 takeaways, which ranked first on the team. He also set new career highs in blocks with 34 and hits with 53. Lastly, at even strength, the puck was only in the defensive zone for 37.3% of the time Garland was on the ice, according to NHL EDGE, which ranked in the 91st percentile. Ultimately, Garland proved to be not just one of Vancouver's best defensive forwards all season but also one of the best two-way right-wingers in the NHL.
Shifting to offence, Garland was virtually impossible to steal the puck from. He finished with just nine giveaways and was able to evade checks through spins and dodges. Garland also hit the 200-shot mark for the second time in his career while he set a new career high with 19 even-strength goals. As for his NHL EDGE zone time, he finished the season playing 44.6% of the time in the offensive zone, which ranked in the 94th percentile. Night after night, he was able to create high-danger chances as his 76 individual even-strength high-danger chances created ranked third amongst all Canucks players this season.
Moving onto the playoffs, Garland was once again a factor at even strength nightly. All five of his points were at even strength, while his 28 individual scoring chances ranked second behind only Pius Suter. In the end, Garland played a significant role for the team, scoring timely goals and helping Vancouver push their second-round series to seven games.
Overall, Garland provided the Canucks with precisely what they needed all season. Based on his play and analytics, it is a shock that he only scored 20 goals, as it felt on some nights that the puck never left the offensive zone when he was on the ice. Now heading into his fourth season with the organization, expectations will be sky-high, especially since the Canucks re-signed both Joshua and Blueger this offseason. If Garland can surpass the 50-point mark while getting close to 25 goals, it will go a long way in ensuring Vancouver keeps their contender status in 2024-25.
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