Canucks' MVP: Conor Garland's outscoring some of the biggest names in the NHL, but there's more

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Cooper Godin
October 17, 2024 (10:23)

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Vancouver Canucks forward Conor Garland is standing out in 2024 in this specific category.

Ever since joining the Vancouver Canucks in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes back in the summer of 2021, forward Conor Garland has been very consistent and in three seasons with the organization, he's registered 145 points.

Garland has been used primarily in a middle-six role for the Canucks and last season, formed one of the best third lines in the National Hockey League alongside Dakota Joshua and Teddy Blueger. Once Dakota Joshua returns from his treatments for testicular cancer, it's going to be interesting to see if Rick Tocchet puts that line back together. Given the success that trio had in 2023-24, it would make a lot of sense.

Since January 1st, Conor Garland has been quite impressive at even-strength, as pointed out by Noah Strang of Daily Hive in a post on X on Wednesday night.

In 2024, Conor Garland has put up 29 points at even-strength in 49 games, which is more than John Tavares, Chris Kreider, Roope Hintz, Brock Boeser, Aleksander Barkov and Alex DeBrincat.

"Conor Garland has 29 even-strength points in 49 games since the calendar flipped to 2024.

That's more than....

- John Tavares (49 GP)
- Roope Hintz (51 GP)
- Chris Kreider (50 GP)
- Brock Boeser (48 GP)
- Sasha Barkov (42 GP)
- Alex DeBrincat (48 GP)" Strang said.

Now, what differentiates these six players mentioned above and Canucks forward Conor Garland? If you guessed they all have a higher salary, you're correct. Conor Garland, who has two years remaining on his contract with the Canucks, is earning $4.95 million annually.

The closest of those six players in terms of salary is New York Rangers forward Chris Kreider, who earns $6.5 million per season. Here's a full list of those six players' salary for the 2024-25 season, according to Spotrac:

Roope Hintz - $8.45 M
Chris Kreider - $6.5 M
John Tavares - $11 M
Brock Boeser - $6.65 M
Aleksander Barkov - $10 M
Alex DeBrincat - $7.875 M

It's safe to say that when Conor Garland is set to hit unrestricted free agency in July 2027 at the age of 30, he's likely get a massive bump in pay, whether that's from the Vancouver Canucks or another organization.