Conor Garland’s first season in Columbus has gone sideways fast.
The former Canucks forward started with a burst after the Vancouver trade, scoring four goals in his next three games. Since then, though, the production has dried up in a hurry. Garland has managed just one goal in his last 25 games for the Blue Jackets, and he’s now sitting on a 15-game pointless streak.
That slide has carried into this season. Heading into Tuesday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Garland has no points in seven games. He has spent time in Columbus’ top six, but he’s been dropped to the fourth line with Ryan Lomberg and Luca Del Bell Belluz.
For the Blue Jackets, that’s a problem with real financial weight behind it. Garland is in the first year of a new six-year deal carrying a $6 million cap hit, which makes him the fourth-highest-paid forward on the roster this season.
The usage tells the same story. Garland is averaging only 12:43 per game, a steep drop from the 18:57 he logged per night with the Canucks last season. Among Blue Jackets forwards, he ranks ninth in average ice time.
Bowness has had plenty of reason to keep tightening the leash. Garland’s puck-possession numbers have been rough, too. At 5-on-5, opponents have out-attempted Columbus 91-to-69 when he’s on the ice, good for a 43.1% corsi.
He hasn’t helped on the power play either. Garland is on the second unit, but he hasn’t registered a point there, and Columbus is dealing with the NHL’s third-worst power play at 11.8 per cent.
It’s still early enough in the season for a turnaround, but right now the frustration from the fan base is loud. One post on social media read: “I’ve seen some bad players in my life.
I’m a lifelong Blue Jackets fan after all.
Conor Garland is climbing up the rankings of all time suck at an alarming rate. #CBJ”
Another fan on Reddit was even more direct: “He is awful and I don’t understand why Bones keeps putting him on the 2nd line,” said one Blue Jackets fan on Reddit. “He’s a turnover machine.”
A different commenter argued the deal only looked fine at first glance, calling it “terrible” once Garland’s contract was factored in: “Vancouver popped the Champaign [sic] when they got rid of that contract.”
Vancouver moved Garland ahead of the trade deadline last season, landing a second-round pick in 2028 and a third-round pick in 2026 from Columbus. The Canucks used that 2026 pick to select goaltender Dmitri Ivchenko.
At the time, Garland hadn’t scored in 23 games, but the move felt like a fresh start. Instead, it now looks like the Canucks got out just before the value completely fell apart.
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For Canucks followers, the eye-opener is less about the deadline mechanics than what it says about Petterssons place in the leagues trade chatter. Carolinas approach under GM Eric Tulsky has been to press hard, compare options and move quickly when the right fit appears, and this report suggests Vancouver was part of that calculus until the Hurricanes settled on another direction. The broader takeaway is simple enough: Pettersson remains a name other teams are willing to explore, even if the details of how close it came are still doing a lot of the work. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Lineup Shift Could Create A New Problem For The Canucks
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For Vancouver, the timing adds another wrinkle to an already familiar division puzzle. Coach Mike Babcock has pointed to the lineup shift as a move that leaves Edmonton in a better spot at centre, while also touching on how the group will manage other injured players. The bigger issue for the Canucks is obvious enough: a healthier Oilers lineup can change the matchups in a hurry, and Nugent-Hopkins return is the kind of adjustment that can ripple beyond just one game. [Read more 🡒]
Canucks Shake Up Top Six With Pressure Suddenly Building
The Canucks got a healthier-looking practice group back on the ice as they continued prepping for a busy stretch against the Red Wings and Wild. Vancouver worked through five-on-five drills, and Marco Rossi was back at practice after missing the past two games because of illness, giving Manny Malhotra a little more flexibility as he sorts through his forward combinations and line chemistry.
Victor Mancini also skated with Zeev Buium, a pairing that at least hints at a possible change for Thursdays matchup with Detroit. With the top six still under the microscope and the schedule moving quickly, the Canucks appear to be weighing whether a few lineup tweaks can help settle things before the pressure builds any further. [Read more 🡒]