[Article] Conor Garland reflects on two chaotic seasons with Vancouver Canucks

[RWJC]

SEP 16, 2023 4:28 PM EDT

Conor Garland reflects on two chaotic seasons with Vancouver Canucks

Three coaches, two GMs, captain traded, good friend bought out and non-stop trade talk, Garland has endured a lot, but is ready to put all that behind him

 

BY JEFF PATERSON

 

Conor Garland has seen just about everything in his two years with the Vancouver Canucks. Everything but the playoffs, that is.
 

As the veteran winger returns for his third season in Vancouver after being acquired by the Canucks at the 2021 National Hockey League draft, he hopes the the chaos and turmoil that has enveloped the organization during his time here is a thing of the past and that he and his teammates can finally start to make some headway in the Pacific Division and the Western Conference playoff chase.
 

In the span of 156 games in Canuck colours, the 27-year-old from Scituate, Massachussettes has played for three head coaches (Travis Green, Bruce Boudreau and Rick Tocchet) and a pair of General Managers (Jim Benning who traded for him and now Patrik Allvin). On top of that, he watched as longtime captain Bo Horvat was dealt away ahead of last season's trade deadline and then saw his longest-serving teammate Oliver Ekman-Larsson bought out by the hockey club in June. Oh, and if that's not enough, his name has been floated in trade speculation for more than a year now. Really, it's just been non-stop noise and distractions around the entire organization since Garland arrived. 
 

But Garland says now it's time to lower the noise level around the hockey club and up the team's point total.

"I feel like the stability in the organization and around the team is probably the highest it’s been since I’ve been here and you can feel that as a player," Garland said after pre-camp skate at UBC this week. "So it’s exciting times, you want to get going and we understand that last couple of years we’ve had those playoff aspirations, but really never acted upon them I would say. We never really practiced like it or trained like it in training camp. But this year, you can feel the difference. You can feel the optimism, but also the focus around it especially with Huggy and Petey and Millsy and Demmer kind of carrying the way, so everybody can sense it."
 

For his part, Garland knows he hasn't lived up to his own expectations in his two seasons in Vancouver. In his first year, he registered 19 goals and finished with a respectable 52 points in 77 games. Last season, despite a hattrick on the final night of the season against his old team in Arizona, his goal total dropped to 17 and his production fell to 46 points.
 

There have been factors that have prevented Garland from reaching the 20-goal mark in Vancouver. He's been limited to primarily a third-line role and hasn't played with particularly gifted centres. He has also seen very little power play time. But Garland isn't looking for excuses. He knows he can be better and he knows he has to be.

"You have to control the controlables and my play is something I can control and it hasn’t been where I wanted it at a consistent basis at all since I’ve been here," he said. "It’s been there, just not on a consistent basis. I had a good summer this year and I feel good and I feel confident. I never don’t feel confident, but this year I feel much more confident in my abilities to go out and be the player that I can be for a full season. I’m excited to get going."
 

With Ekman-Larsson no longer in the fold, Conor Garland is the only Canuck that has experienced a Rick Tocchet training camp. So he knows what to expect when the team hits the ice in Victoria later this week.

Garland had his best NHL goal-scoring season under Tocchet in Arizona when he potted 22 goals in 67 games in 2019-20. He backed that up with 12 goals in 49 games -- and was on pace for another 20-goal season -- in the 2021 COVID season.
 

"Everybody’s talking about the need to get off to a good start," Garland said. "We’ve got a tough schedule out of the gate, but I’ve been in Tocc training camps before. They're hard and you’re ready to go. I’ve always got off to a good start under him because you feel ready to go. You feel the intensity and the competition at camp right away. And that’s a necessity."
 

And Garland believes the 36 games Tocchet had behind the bench after taking over in January will pay dividends for the Canucks starting this week as the team lays the foundation for the long season ahead.

"I was excited when he came in, just knowing what he brings," Garland added. "I played my best hockey under him. And Greener, really, too, who are both kind of similar. But I loved playing for Tocchet and I’m glad he’s back. It’s good for everybody to understand the system and to understand the standard he wants because it is a standard where he doesn’t care if you’re at your best, but you better compete and better play hard and you better be 100 percent for the team all the time because he sniffs that out. He’s just somebody I love playing for and all the guys here loved playing for him. We’re eager to get going and get some real games under him at the start here."

For Conor Garland, he's certainly hoping the third time is the charm and that his third season in Vancouver is unlike the first two -- on so many levels.

 

https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vancouver-canucks/.amp/news/conor-garland-reflects-on-two-chaotic-seasons-with-vancouver-canucks

Edited September 19, 2023 by RWJC

[Snoop Hogg]

We are stuck with him, so I hope he’s at least utilized more.

[Alflives]

There has to be a GM of another team who likes to garden and needs a gnome. 

[Truefan99]

Well there it is folks Garland admitting he’s been complete doodoo during his stint here so far, meaning he’s not been worth his contract. Lots of words from him it’s now time to show if he’s worth it or dead cap. 

[EdgarM]

I really think he needs to have chemistry with a good center to be more successful. He has the skill but he just didn't seem to gel with anyone. If he had some "Sedin" like chemistry with a center, we could see another level from him. Maybe this year he finds linemates who are a good fit. 

[stawns]

55 minutes ago, EdgarM said:

I really think he needs to have chemistry with a good center to be more successful. He has the skill but he just didn't seem to gel with anyone. If he had some "Sedin" like chemistry with a center, we could see another level from him. Maybe this year he finds linemates who are a good fit. 

I thought he had good chemistry with JT, but not sure Miller does well with a superior play driver on his line, when he's at C.  I'd like them to find a legit #2C and put Miller back on the wing with Garland.

[MeanSeanBean]

Garlands biggest issue in my eyes is he doesn't play well with others. At no point have I seen him on a line where I thought he made the line better with his presence. He holds the puck, does some spins in deep, then shoots the puck at weird angles or makes a play behind the net. 

 

He gets points, but I just don't like the way he plays on offense. He's shown stints of being a little rat and getting under the teams skin, but he doesn't even do that nearly consistently enough. 

[Jester13]

The article is right: Garland hasn't been playing consistently with a good centre. He and Suter are almost certainly going to be the 3rd line tandem, and that's going to be fun to watch. It'll be interesting to see who wins the left wing spot. PDG or Joshua would both bring much-needed size to that line. Pumped. Lfg.

[Snoop Hogg]

1 minute ago, Jester13 said:

The article is right: Garland hasn't been playing consistently with a good centre. He and Suter are almost certainly going to be the 3rd line tandem, and that's going to be fun to watch. It'll be interesting to see who wins the left wing spot. PDG or Joshua would both bring much-needed size to that line. Pumped. Lfg.

A good thing about the preseason is they can try all sorts of line combinations and not have to worry about wins and losses.

I would like to see them try Garland with Karlsson. Maybe they can develop some chemistry.

[EdgarM]

52 minutes ago, stawns said:

I thought he had good chemistry with JT, but not sure Miller does well with a superior play driver on his line, when he's at C.  I'd like them to find a legit #2C and put Miller back on the wing with Garland.

 

32 minutes ago, MeanSeanBean said:

Garlands biggest issue in my eyes is he doesn't play well with others. At no point have I seen him on a line where I thought he made the line better with his presence. He holds the puck, does some spins in deep, then shoots the puck at weird angles or makes a play behind the net. 

 

He gets points, but I just don't like the way he plays on offense. He's shown stints of being a little rat and getting under the teams skin, but he doesn't even do that nearly consistently enough. 

Yeah JT just isn't that give and go style of play kind of guy. 

I found him to make some great plays on the rush and in the corners but no one around to pass to. 

I find him similar to Ronning but he needs that big body to give him more room to make plays.

[WSAcanuck]

Garland to me is just yet another symptom rather than the problem. He is another example of what we saw tons through the Benning era (and to a certain degree with the new management) of building a team that has good or even serviceable players that are not reasonably complementary with each other as a group for whatever reason. 
 

We have seen lots of examples of it whether they were deployed incorrectly by coaches or were just the wrong type of player for where they were needed and expected to fit. 
 

Hoprfully that team building dynamic has changed to focus on the team for rather than the individual fit. If not, expect more of the same. 

[The Duke]

1 hour ago, Jester13 said:

The article is right: Garland hasn't been playing consistently with a good centre. He and Suter are almost certainly going to be the 3rd line tandem, and that's going to be fun to watch. It'll be interesting to see who wins the left wing spot. PDG or Joshua would both bring much-needed size to that line. Pumped. Lfg.

Probably the most likely fit going into camp and if they find chemistry the line should fall together easily with PDG/Joshua/Podkolzin or even a younger guy like McDonough out there.  Those guys are a stretch in the top 6 but could look great on a depth scoring line. 

 

Petey-Kuz

Miller-Boeser

Suter-Garland 

as duos in our top 9 and roll out Bleuger with a good checking winger our forward group sure looks effective (if a little small.) 

[RawkDrummer]

the cap needs some massaging, some bodies need to go.

[Jester13]

22 minutes ago, The Duke said:

Probably the most likely fit going into camp and if they find chemistry the line should fall together easily with PDG/Joshua/Podkolzin or even a younger guy like McDonough out there.  Those guys are a stretch in the top 6 but could look great on a depth scoring line. 

 

Petey-Kuz

Miller-Boeser

Suter-Garland 

as duos in our top 9 and roll out Bleuger with a good checking winger our forward group sure looks effective (if a little small.) 

McDonough doesn't have the foot speed yet to stick, but I forgot about Pearson, too. Pears, PDG, Joshua, Podz can all bring the size we need to the lineup. Chemistry will indeed be important. Pumped to see how they fit together.

[stawns]

3 hours ago, WSAcanuck said:

Garland to me is just yet another symptom rather than the problem. He is another example of what we saw tons through the Benning era (and to a certain degree with the new management) of building a team that has good or even serviceable players that are not reasonably complementary with each other as a group for whatever reason. 
 

We have seen lots of examples of it whether they were deployed incorrectly by coaches or were just the wrong type of player for where they were needed and expected to fit. 
 

Hoprfully that team building dynamic has changed to focus on the team for rather than the individual fit. If not, expect more of the same. 

I don't agree with that take on Garland and I actually think they need more of Garland, not less.  He's a play driver and makes things happen when he's on the ice.  For whatever reason, BB didn't see him as an important player and just kept riding the Boeser train, despite continued poor performance.

Edited September 17, 2023 by stawns

[Truefan99]

4 hours ago, MeanSeanBean said:

Garlands biggest issue in my eyes is he doesn't play well with others. At no point have I seen him on a line where I thought he made the line better with his presence. He holds the puck, does some spins in deep, then shoots the puck at weird angles or makes a play behind the net. 

 

He gets points, but I just don't like the way he plays on offense. He's shown stints of being a little rat and getting under the teams skin, but he doesn't even do that nearly consistently enough. 

This is so on point. 

[WSAcanuck]

1 minute ago, stawns said:

I don't agree with that take on Garland and I actually think they need more of Garland, not less.  He's a play driver and makes things happen when he's on the ice.  For whatever reason, BB didn't see him as an important player and just kept riding the Boeser train, despite continued poor performance.

I specifically was saying Garland isn’t really the problem. He just hasn’t fit with anyone he’s played with and they haven’t fit with him. He’s a good player. He’s just not been utilized effectively and also really hasn’t stepped up himself in Vancouver.

[arsenalian]

18 hours ago, Snoop Hogg said:

A good thing about the preseason is they can try all sorts of line combinations and not have to worry about wins and losses.

I would like to see them try Garland with Karlsson. Maybe they can develop some chemistry.

That’s ok for a couple games. I would argue juggling lines all pre-season and not getting set lines is what, in part, led to the slow starts the last few seasons. I hope Tochett already has an idea of what he wants lines to be, so they can spend pre-season building chemistry, with no pressure.

Edited September 18, 2023 by arsenalian
Spelling corrections

[boziffous]

19 hours ago, stawns said:

I thought he had good chemistry with JT, but not sure Miller does well with a superior play driver on his line, when he's at C.  I'd like them to find a legit #2C and put Miller back on the wing with Garland.

Good point. I thought Garland had good chemistry with JT as well. Them both being play drivers might take a bit away from each others game though.

[Nucker67]

I wish more Canucks players played as gritty as Garland. 

[Gawdzukes]

On 9/17/2023 at 11:47 AM, EdgarM said:

I really think he needs to have chemistry with a good center to be more successful. He has the skill but he just didn't seem to gel with anyone. If he had some "Sedin" like chemistry with a center, we could see another level from him. Maybe this year he finds linemates who are a good fit. 

 

On 9/17/2023 at 1:02 PM, MeanSeanBean said:

Garlands biggest issue in my eyes is he doesn't play well with others. At no point have I seen him on a line where I thought he made the line better with his presence. He holds the puck, does some spins in deep, then shoots the puck at weird angles or makes a play behind the net. 

 

He gets points, but I just don't like the way he plays on offense. He's shown stints of being a little rat and getting under the teams skin, but he doesn't even do that nearly consistently enough. 

My sentiments exactly. He's not a good player to develop chemistry with because he's looking to do it all by himself at the beginning of plays. When he finally runs out of options after spinning around ad nauseum he pretends/attempts to cobble some crazy pass or 5 degree angle shot as if that's what he was planning all along. If only he looked to pass first and then get open for a return pass he'd be a far more effective player, because he is skilled and can skate. It's like he has little man syndrome and refuses to accept his limitations and work within them.

Unfortunately we're stuck with him for the time being. I'am hoping that a cap increase may make him tradeable sooner than later. We need that $$ to upgrade our winger position and make us harder to play against as well as deal with the OEL hit upcoming.

He gets points but it's really a who cares at what expense thing for me.

[EdgarM]

15 minutes ago, Gawdzukes said:

 

My sentiments exactly. He's not a good player to develop chemistry with because he's looking to do it all by himself at the beginning of plays. When he finally runs out of options after spinning around ad nauseum he pretends/attempts to cobble some crazy pass or 5 degree angle shot as if that's what he was planning all along. If only he looked to pass first and then get open for a return pass he'd be a far more effective player, because he is skilled and can skate. It's like he has little man syndrome and refuses to accept his limitations and work within them.

Unfortunately we're stuck with him for the time being. I'am hoping that a cap increase may make him tradeable sooner than later. We need that $$ to upgrade our winger position and make us harder to play against as well as deal with the OEL hit upcoming.

He gets points but it's really a who cares at what expense thing for me.

I agree, his size is an issue as well, and the chemistry is not there anyway, so probably moving him to improve the team in other areas is the best option at this point.

[MeanSeanBean]

20 minutes ago, Gawdzukes said:

 

My sentiments exactly. He's not a good player to develop chemistry with because he's looking to do it all by himself at the beginning of plays. When he finally runs out of options after spinning around ad nauseum he pretends/attempts to cobble some crazy pass or 5 degree angle shot as if that's what he was planning all along. If only he looked to pass first and then get open for a return pass he'd be a far more effective player, because he is skilled and can skate. It's like he has little man syndrome and refuses to accept his limitations and work within them.

Unfortunately we're stuck with him for the time being. I'am hoping that a cap increase may make him tradeable sooner than later. We need that $$ to upgrade our winger position and make us harder to play against as well as deal with the OEL hit upcoming.

He gets points but it's really a who cares at what expense thing for me.

This has always been my opinion on Garland, and oh boy did I ever take heat for saying this when we traded him. I'm just not a fan of the way he plays.

[The Lock]

17 minutes ago, MeanSeanBean said:

This has always been my opinion on Garland, and oh boy did I ever take heat for saying this when we traded him. I'm just not a fan of the way he plays.

It's kind of unfortunate really. He has the skillset to be an asset. Perhaps he can use his own words and develop that way.

[Truefan99]

9 hours ago, NUCKER 67 said:

I wish more Canucks players played as gritty as Garland. 

Great joke needed that laugh