LATEST | Connor Garland opens up on the loss of a longtime teammate
Jeff Patterson, co-host of Rink Wide Vancouver, caught up with Conor Garland. In Garland's interview, he spoke about the departure of Oliver Ekman-Larsson, a player he played with for a long time, including their days as Coyote teammates.
Garland began his NHL career as a Coyote in the 2018-19 season. That year, Oliver Ekman-Larsson had just received the captaincy in Arizona. Flash forward two years, where Garland records 39 points in 49 games and is packaged in a big deal that brings Ekman-Larsson to the Canucks in exchange for a first-rounder (Turned into Dylan Gunther), Loui Eriksson, Jay Beagle and Antoine Roussel.
The deal was necessary as the Canucks removed a few burdensome contracts and brought back a great defenseman. The problem is that the Coyotes drafted Dylan Guenther, who looks like an absolute stud and Ekman-Larsson (The main piece in the trade) struggled from the jump with Vancouver.
Ekman-Larsson played solid in his first year but was not the offensive weapon he was in Arizona. Last season was his second in Vancouver, and it was disastrous as Ekman-Larsson notched a career-low 22 points and was -24. With his cap hit of 8.25 Million dollars for four years left, it was time to buy him out.
Garland spoke about his former teammate fondly, saying.
Ekman-Larsson has signed a one-year, 2.25 million dollar contract with the Canucks. Garland and the Canucks will meet early against Ekman-Larsson as the Canucks are in Florida on Oct 21st.
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 19 | 662 ANSWERS LATEST | Connor Garland opens up on the loss of a longtime teammate Was the OEL buyout neccessary? | ||
| Yes | 582 | 87.9 % |
| No | 80 | 12.1 % |
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