It felt like typical Vancouver Canucks luck in the immediate aftermath.
Conor Garland was mired in one of the worst slumps of his career before the Canucks shipped him off to the Columbus Blue Jackets at the trade deadline. He had just one goal in his last 30 games with Vancouver.
As soon as he joined the Blue Jackets, Garland scored four goals in his first three games, becoming the first player in Columbus history to achieve that feat.
While it’s still early days in his Ohio tenure, that perfect audition for Columbus fans has been the peak of his Blue Jackets career.
Since his four-goal outburst, Garland has just one goal and three points over his last 13 games. Ironically, his own cooling off has coincided with the Blue Jackets crashing back down to earth.
#CBJ strugglers during the 1-5-1 swoon:
Sean Monahan 0-0-0 -5
Conor Garland 0-1-0 -4
Cole Sillinger 1-0-1 -2
Charlie Coyle 1-0-1 -5
Adam Fantilli 1-2-3 0
Zach Werenski 1-2-3 0#CBJ have scored 12 goals in the past seven games.
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) April 4, 2026
Columbus was on an all-time heater under new head coach Rick Bowness, going 13-2-1 during his first 16 games behind the bench.
The last 16 contests haven’t been as magical, as Columbus has gone 6-6-4 ever since Garland joined the team.
One of the more puzzling aspects of Garland’s drop off hasn’t been about his production, but more so about his usage.
The 30-year-old has averaged just 13:06 of ice time per game since joining Columbus, which ranks eighth among their forwards. At five-on-five, his usage drops further, with his average ice time ranking 10th among Jackets forwards.
Garland was primarily slotted in on the second line with Sean Monahan and Kent Johnson. However, that line was used in a sheltered role, and they often saw their minutes slashed in games where Columbus was playing with the lead. Bowness elected to use lines centred by Charlie Coyle and Boone Jenner as go-to options for Columbus in defending situations, whereas first-line centre Adam Fantilli has been utilized in all capacities.
Although he’s still spent the majority of his five-on-five ice time with Monahan, Bowness did slot Garland on Jenner’s line temporarily, before putting him on Coyle’s line before their Tuesday night game against the Detroit Red Wings.
Allvin traded Garland at the deadline in exchange for a 2028 second-round pick and a 2026 third-round pick. The Massachusetts native signed a six-year extension with the Canucks last summer, paying him $6 million per season. That contract kicks in for Columbus on July 1.
Garland and the Blue Jackets are suddenly in tough to make the playoffs. MoneyPuck has their playoff odds at 24.8 per cent, and they have no easy games remaining on their schedule.
After visiting Detroit on Tuesday night, Columbus finishes off their regular season on the road against the playoff-bound Buffalo Sabres and Montreal Canadiens, before wrapping up their season at home against the Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals, teams that are still battling with Columbus for a postseason berth.