Ever since chatter emerged on the status of Vancouver Canucks veteran forward Conor Garland, indicating that he had permission to speak to other teams about a potential trade deal, several teams have been linked to him. Garland is currently in third year of a four-year contract he signed with the Canucks in the summer of 2021, a deal that carries a cap hit of $4.95 million per season.
When insider Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet recently updated on the situation in Vancouver, he had mentioned that at least three teams were in the mix, even alluding the fact that he believes there may be even more teams involved, but now we know the Washington Capitals were probably one of these clubs calling the Canucks.
That’s because Friedman explained earlier this week that a trade failed through between the Capitals and the Canucks, that would have sent Garland packing to the D.C.
The transaction would have had the Capitals parting ways with forward Anthony Mantha, whose name has been mentioned quite a few times in trade circles in recent weeks.
According to Friedman, the Canucks simply couldn’t make room for Mantha and is annual salary of $5.7 million on their tight cap.
“Washington’s big thing is they want to move Mantha too, and it’s it’s not a fit for the Canucks.”
While the Canucks are believed to be open to the possibility of absorbing part of Garland’s salary, the numbers still have to match with the return they’d get in the transaction. It is also rumoured that Vancouver would be seeking a defensemen in return for Garland, while also trying to shave $1-2 million off of their current cap hit. These specific demands from the Canucks will likely limit their options, and could explain why the trade with the Capitals was aborted. It is possible that veteran right-shot defensemen like Nick Jensen and Trevor van Riemsdyk were floated around as potential options for the Canucks, but the Capitals are still trying to move first and foremost…
There is recent information emerging that a three-team trade could be needed to make a Garland move out of Vancouver possible. Some pundits imagine the Chicago Blackhawks getting involved. Garland could therefore be on the move to Chicago first, only to be traded tp Washington who’d sweetened the deal for the Blackhawks by adding something with Mantha for taking on the extra salary and the worse player.
This may be an aborted trade at the moment, but it could be revisited in the future. Who knows?
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