Blue Jackets acquire Conor Garland for 2 draft picks

The Columbus Blue Jackets acquired forward Conor Garland from the Vancouver Canucks as they seek their first Stanley Cup playoff berth since 2020.

The rebuilding Canucks received Columbus’ third-round pick in the 2026 NHL draft and its 2028 second-round pick in the deal.

Garland, 29, has seven goals and 19 assists in 50 games for last-place Vancouver, skating to a minus-15 in 18:57 of average ice time. He hasn’t scored a goal in his past 23 games with the Canucks.

Previously, he had scored at least 19 goals in four of his past six NHL seasons with Vancouver and Arizona, which drafted him in the fifth round (No. 123) in 2015. He’s a feisty forward in the offensive zone who also acquits himself well in the defensive end.

“Conor is a versatile player who brings great energy to the lineup every night and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome he and his family to Columbus,” Blue Jackets president of hockey operations Don Waddell said in a statement. “He has tremendous character, plays a reliable two-way game and will be an important part of our club now and in the future.”

The Blue Jackets traded for Garland in the last year of his five-year contract that carries a $4.95 million cap hit. But he won’t become a free agent this summer. What makes this trade a peculiar one for Columbus is that Garland is already signed to a six-year contract extension that begins next season, which Vancouver handed him last July. That deal runs through the 2031-32 season and carries a $6 million cap hit and a full no-movement clause in the first three seasons.

Columbus is one point behind Boston for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, with both teams having played 61 games. The Blue Jackets have been one of the league’s hottest teams since replacing coach Dean Evason with Rick Bowness, having gone 13-2-1 under their new bench boss.