“Zero Communication” Between Coyotes and Conor Garland

According to DailyFaceOff.com’s Frank Seravalli, there have been no developments between the Arizona Coyotes and restricted free agent forward Conor Garland on a new contract. A rising star, Garland has gone from fifth-round pick that didn’t necessarily have a high ceiling to one of the bright spots on the Coyotes roster. Now, at 25 years old, he has a 22-goal season (2019-20) and 39 points in 49 games (2020-21) on his resume. He’s due for a decent raise and the Coyotes would be wise to get him locked up to a long-term deal, if they can.

The only problem is, the Coyotes aren’t bothering to get back to Garland’s agent after the player’s side submitted two contract proposals, as per the request of Coyotes’ GM Bill Armstrong.

Seravalli writes:

The Coyotes have not treated Garland like the player who was the heartbeat of their team. Garland’s camp, led by agent Peter Cooney, submitted two contract proposals (as requested by the club) on May 20 and there has been zero communication or dialogue since.

The agent told Seravalli: “We’re just looking for Conor to be paid respectfully like the core player he was for the Coyotes.” Speculation is now, Garland’s side is wondering what the future holds on the team and there’s thought again that the player might be traded as a pending RFA during the summer. Seravalli adds that this is “no real shock given that Arizona nearly moved Garland in the days prior to April’s trade deadline.”

There Will be Plenty of Interest in Garland

Considering Garland trailed only Phil Kessel for production from the Coyotes’ forwards, his skill and strong possession numbers make him an incredibly smart bet to continue upping his offensive totals. He’s produced with a cast of different line mates and if placed alongside some elite-level talent, it’s hard to predict what he might be able to do. You can line up a number of teams that would take a shot at him in a trade, but his cost would be a factor in the negotiations. One would imagine that the acquiring team would want to have permission to talk with his agent about what new deal looks like first.

The lack of discussion between the two sides might not mean the Coyotes plan to deal the player, but one has to wonder why the silent treatment? He’s coming off a two-year deal that carried an average annual value of just $775K. Did he really ask for that big a hike in pay? It was a given he was going to get a big raise, so the Coyotes can’t be that surprised with whatever numbers the agent threw out there.

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