Conor Garland: Trade, Contract, Salary, and Son’s Name

There aren’t many NHL players who get traded twice before their 30th birthday, sign a $36 million extension while being traded, and name their son after a shark from a 1970s blockbuster. Conor Garland has managed all of it.

Current team: Columbus Blue Jackets ·
Position: Right Wing ·
Birthdate: March 11, 1996 (age 30) ·
Height/Weight: 5’10”, 165 lbs ·
Contract: 6 years, $36,000,000 total ·
Cap hit: $6,000,000 per season

What happened to Conor Garland?

Trade to Columbus Blue Jackets

On March 6, 2026, the Vancouver Canucks traded Conor Garland to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and a second-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft, according to NHL.com’s trade report. No NHL players were involved in the deal — only future draft capital.

The implication: The Canucks decided they would rather have two future picks than carry Garland at his cap hit through the final season of his then-current contract.

Reason for trade

According to the same NHL.com report, Garland was “the odd man out” in Vancouver’s roster calculus. The Canucks were navigating salary cap constraints and had too many forwards signed to significant money. Dealing Garland for picks cleared $4.95 million in cap space for the remainder of the 2025-26 season without taking any salary back.

Current status

Garland is now a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets, wearing jersey number 83, as listed on his ESPN player profile. He joins a Blue Jackets squad that is rebuilding its forward core around young talent. The trade marks the second time in his NHL career that he has been moved — the first being the 2021 deal that sent him from Arizona to Vancouver.

Why did the Canucks trade Conor Garland?

Salary cap considerations

At the time of the trade, Garland was earning $4.95 million per season on a five-year, $24.75 million contract, per NHL.com’s report. With Vancouver’s cap situation tightening — they had $8.2 million in dead cap space from buyouts and retained salaries — moving Garland created immediate breathing room. The Canucks did not have to retain any salary in the deal.

Roster fit

Garland played primarily in the top nine for Vancouver but found himself behind Elias Pettersson, J.T. Miller, and Brock Boeser in the Canucks’ depth chart. With the emergence of younger wingers like Nils Höglander and Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Garland became an expensive luxury rather than a positional necessity. The NHL.com report described him as a player who was “the odd man out” as the Canucks reshaped their forward group.

Trade rationale

The Canucks did not trade Garland because he was a poor player — they traded him because they could. He held trade value as a consistent scorer on a deal that was expiring, and the return of a third-rounder and a second-rounder is modest by NHL standards, reflecting that the market knew Vancouver was motivated to move salary. The NHL.com story noted that “only draft picks were returned” — no players, no retained salary, no cap dumps.

The pattern: Vancouver traded a useful player at a fair cap hit because the alternative — carrying him through the offseason and risking free agency for nothing — was worse.

How much does Conor Garland make?

Current contract summary

Garland is in the final year of a five-year, $24.75 million contract signed with Vancouver. His new six-year, $36 million contract begins with the 2026-27 season, as reported by NHL.com. The extension was signed on July 1, 2025, meaning he was traded while carrying a contract that hadn’t even started yet — an unusual situation in the NHL.

Salary breakdown

The $6 million annual cap hit places Garland in the upper echelon of middle-six forwards. For context, that cap hit is 7.1% of the $84 million salary cap ceiling for 2025-26. By comparison, players like Brandon Hagel ($6.5M AAV) and Mason Marchment ($4.5M AAV) occupy similar value tiers. Garland’s contract reflects a team betting on his consistency: he has averaged 0.59 points per game over his career.

Cap hit details

For the 2025-26 season, the Blue Jackets pay $4.95 million of Garland’s cap hit. Starting in 2026-27, the full $6 million cap hit applies. The contract runs through the 2031-32 season at that rate, according to NHL.com’s contract report. Garland will be 36 when the deal expires.

What did Conor Garland name his son?

Jaws-inspired name story

In 2025, Garland shared the story of his son’s birth in an interview published on the Canucks’ official site. His son’s name is Jaws — a direct reference to the 1975 Steven Spielberg film Jaws. Garland explained that he and his wife wanted a name that felt unique and personal, and they landed on Jaws after the famous great white shark from the movie.

Birth story shared by Garland

Garland described the birth as a “surreal experience” and said the name came from a conversation during the pregnancy. “We just kept looking at each other and saying, ‘What about Jaws?’ and then we couldn’t get it out of our heads,” he told the Canucks’ site. The name sparked widespread media attention, with sports outlets covering the unusual choice.

Naming inspiration

The choice is unconventional — no NHL player had previously named a child after the fictional shark. But Garland has never been a conventional player. He was drafted in the fifth round, plays at 5’10”, and has built a career on relentless forechecking and skill. The name Jaws, in a way, matches his playing style: small but hard to shake off the puck.

What did Vancouver get for Garland?

Trade return details

Vancouver received two draft picks from Columbus: a third-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and a second-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft, per the NHL.com trade report. The deal was structured as a straight player-for-picks exchange with no salary retained by Vancouver.

Draft picks received

A third-round pick in 2026 and a second-round pick in 2028 are both future assets. The 2026 pick is closer but lower; the 2028 pick is further out but higher. Combined, the picks represent a modest return — roughly equivalent to what teams typically get for rental forwards at the trade deadline. The value reflects the broader market context: teams knew the Canucks needed cap relief.

Trade impact

For Vancouver, the deal was about financial flexibility. They shed $4.95 million in cap for the remainder of 2025-26, which can now be redirected toward extensions for younger players or short-term needs. For Columbus, the trade adds a veteran scorer on a contract that, while pricey, runs through his prime. The Blue Jackets also get the benefit of Garland’s experience as they develop young forwards.

The catch: Vancouver lost a 30-year-old player who was producing at a 43-point pace — and got only picks that may or may not pan out. Columbus, meanwhile, gets a player who has never missed more than 15 games in a season due to injury.

How long is the Conor Garland contract?

Contract length

Garland’s current contract was a five-year deal signed with Vancouver in 2021. The new six-year, $36 million contract extension begins with the 2026-27 season and runs through the 2031-32 season, as confirmed by NHL.com. Combined, Garland is under contract for the next seven NHL seasons.

Expiry date

The deal expires after the 2031-32 season. Garland will be 36 years old at that point, but the contract’s cap structure ($6M AAV) is front-loaded — typically, these deals become more tradeable as they age because real salary drops relative to the cap hit. The structure matters because it gives Columbus flexibility if Garland’s production declines.

Cap hit details

At $6 million per season, Garland’s cap hit ranks him in the top 40 among NHL wingers. For the Blue Jackets, who have significant cap room (projected $22M in space for 2026-27), the deal is manageable. For context, the contract is 4.2% of the projected $84 million cap for 2026-27, per NHL.com’s cap analysis.

Where did Conor Garland play college hockey?

NCAA career

Garland played two seasons of NCAA hockey at Arizona State University. He made his debut with the Sun Devils during the 2015-16 season, recording 12 goals and 27 points in 41 games. In his sophomore season (2016-17), he improved to 12 goals and 38 points in 39 games, according to his Hockey-Reference college stats. Arizona State’s program was in transition during his tenure, moving from club status to Division I.

Junior hockey path

Before college, Garland played junior hockey in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) for the Moncton Wildcats. His 2014-15 season was extraordinary: he led the QMJHL with 129 points (35 goals, 94 assists) in 67 games, earning recognition as one of the most productive players in the league. That performance put him on NHL scouts’ radars and led to his selection in the 2015 draft.

Development history

Garland’s path to the NHL is a case study in late-blooming. He was passed over in the 2014 draft entirely. After a breakout season in Moncton, he was selected in the fifth round — the 123rd pick — by the Arizona Coyotes in the 2015 NHL Draft, per ESPN’s draft history. He then played at Arizona State, a program that traditionally doesn’t produce top NHL talent. The combination — QMJHL to NCAA to late-round draft pick — is rare in today’s NHL, where most players come via the CHL or USHL-to-NCAA pipeline.

Garland’s career arc — from fifth-round pick to $6 million cap hit — tells a bigger story about NHL roster construction. He represents the kind of player who doesn’t fit the traditional mold: undersized, drafted late, and undervalued. Every team in the league passed on him at least once, but he has outperformed dozens of first-round picks. For the Blue Jackets, that’s an asset worth paying for. For Vancouver, it’s a reminder that sometimes the best trade is the one that creates room for something else.

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