MAJOR | Conor Garland finally addresses trade speculation and his request

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Cooper Godin
December 9, 2023 (11:43)

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Conor Garland's season hasn't gone as he had hoped so far, only putting up two goals and nine points in 27 games.

Despite that, Garland said in an interview with Sportsnet that he's happy to be a Vancouver Canuck and wants the fan base to know that he never requested a trade.

"You know, I never asked for a trade," he said. "That just wasn't the case."

Garland went on to add in the interview that he understands the complaints regarding his lack of production, but knows that he's helping the team in other ways, especially playing a smaller role and not on the team's first line or first powerplay unit.

"I've produced for a while in my career, kind of every year," Garland told Sportsnet. "It's not like I just woke up and became a ... bad finisher. It's just sometimes they don't go in and that's kind of been the case this year. But when the team's winning and you're contributing in other ways, it doesn't really matter if you have a goal or assist. You're just trying to play well and help the team win anyway you can."

He added, "I think the team doesn't pay you to just go out and score; the team pays you to help them win. Maybe if I was playing on the first line, first power play, 20 minutes a night, not scoring and the team's losing? Yeah, I think they could have some issues. But we have a pretty good record right now. I understand my role is different than it has been, really, my past six years in the league. But sure, I understand there's lots of complaints about (his lack of scoring)."

The 27-year-old has two more years remaining on his contract beyond the 2023-24 season with a cap hit just under $5 million. Rick Tocchet likes what Garland brings to the lineup, but if Allvin is able to move him and free up an additional nearly $5 million to help add more towards the deadline, he should certainly pull the trigger.