It’s looking more likely Conor Garland will be on the move before Friday’s NHL trade deadline.
NHL insider Pierre Lebrun reported Thursday afternoon that trade interest in the Vancouver Canucks winger has surged.
A source confirmed to Postmedia News that multiple teams are interested in Garland, who is signed to a six-year, $36-million deal contract extension which kicks in this summer.
According to Lebrun, Columbus (CHEK-TV’s Rick Dhaliwal mentioned the Blue Jackets on Wednesday), Washington, New Jersey, San Jose and Boston have all expressed interest. Previous reports had said the New York Islanders were interested, a team that Lebrun included in his list, but sources earlier in the day suggested the Islanders were an unlikely destination for Garland.
A source suggested to Postmedia over a month ago that the Canucks were likely to move at least a forward and a defenceman who were not pending free agents before the deadline. Wednesday, the Canucks traded Tyler Myers, who had one year left on his contract. That took care of the predicted defenceman; if Garland were to be traded, that would tick off the forward box of this source’s prediction.
Canucks president Jim Rutherford said in November the team was looking to trade their pending unrestricted free agents: Derek Forbort, Teddy Blueger, Evander Kane and David Kampf. Forbort is out for the season and surely won’t be traded, but Postmedia understands there has been interest in both Blueger and Kampf. Teams have called previously on Kane, though interest lately has been lukewarm.
The trade deadline is noon PT on Friday.
This story may be updated.