Both head coach Rick Tocchet and forward Conor Garland have spent time together with the Arizona Coyotes and Vancouver Canucks. Tocchet, a former NHL player and three-time Stanley Cup champion (one as a player and two as a coach), has over 20 years of coaching experience. Garland was a fifth-round selection in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft by the Coyotes and has made a name for himself in the league. However, without the impact of Tocchet’s coaching, Garland may not have elevated his game to where it is today.
Garland’s Journey to the NHL
Garland played his junior hockey in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) with the Moncton Wildcats. The winger scored over 127 points in each of his last two seasons with the Wildcats. The Scituate, Massachusetts native’s best season in Moncton came in the 2014-15 season when he scored 35 goals, 94 assists, and 129 points in 67 games. Surprisingly, after leading the QMJHL in assists and points by a landslide the same season, his name was not called until the fifth round.
Size and weight hurt Garland’s draft stock in 2015. Any 5-foot-10, 165-pound forward would be questioned if they can succeed at the NHL level. After being selected with the 123rd pick, he returned to Moncton for another successful season scoring 128 points.
At the start of the 2016-17 season, Garland joined Arizona’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate team the Tucson Roadrunners. Five goals, nine assists, and 14 points were put up in 55 games played in his first season with the Roadrunners. The following season, he improved in every scoring category with eight goals, 19 assists, and 27 points in 55 games played. Tucson made the Calder Cup Playoffs in the 2017-18 season and he recorded five points in nine games.
Related: Coyotes’ Conor Garland and His Long Road to the NHL
In his third and final year with the Roadrunners, Garland played 21 games and scored 22 points in the AHL, and he was called up to the Coyotes in early December.
3 Years in the Desert
After completing his first year as an NHL head coach with the Coyotes, Tocchet led Arizona to its first winning season in five seasons. In the 2018-19 season, Arizona finished with a 39-35-8 record and missed the playoffs, but it was a step in the right direction for the team and Garland. He made his NHL debut on Dec. 8, 2018, against the San Jose Sharks. It took seven games, but the right-handed forward finally scored his first NHL goal against the Colorado Avalanche. On Dec. 22, 2018, he scored on a semi-breakaway to put Arizona up 4-1 in the second period.
Garland’s rookie season was highlighted by a six-goal span over four games. During this span, on Jan. 12, 2019, he scored two power-play goals in the Coyotes’ 3-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers. His willingness to go to the dirty areas was on full display as a shot from defenseman Jordan Oesterle hit off Garland’s face and into the goal. He returned later and netted another power-play goal in the third period, which served as the game-winning goal.
In 47 games played in his first year, Garland scored 13 goals, five assists, and 18 points. Tocchet saw his determination to succeed despite his small stature and noticed adjustments that had to be made to his game to stay in the NHL. In a recent interview by Sportsnet, they revealed an influential conversation during the rookie’s season with Tocchet.
“I was kind of stern I said Gars (Garland) you’re not a 17-minute player the way you’re playing,” Tocchet said. “And he (Garland) looked me dead in the eye and said well make me one because I want to be one.”
From this very conversation and on, Garland never looked back and continued to develop into a top-six forward.
Playing in 21 more games the next season, Garland doubled his points from the previous season with 39. He scored the most goals in the regular season in his career up to this point with 22. The 2018-19 season saw him score his career-best in game-winning goals with five. The American-born winger accomplished all this in 68 games played (COVID-19 shortened the regular season that year). The Coyotes made the Stanley Cup Playoffs Qualifying Round against the Nashville Predators. Arizona won Game 3 of the series 4-1 thanks to his game-winning goal coming in the third period. The Coyotes won the play-in series against the Predators and then fell to the Avalanche in five games in the first round. Two points for the right-handed winger came in eight playoff games.
With a 56-game 2020-21 NHL season the following year, Arizona finished two games below .500 and missed the playoffs. While it may have been a disappointing season for the Coyotes, Garland scored the same amount of points as the previous season (38) in 19 fewer games played. On Feb. 2, 2021, Tocchet’s proclaimed “Short Leash Line” made its debut. The line featured left winger Clayton Keller, center Nick Schmaltz, and right winger Garland. The line was given this title because if they were not playing “the right way,” the line would be split up. During a shortened season and COVID-19 protocols, the Coyotes faced the St. Louis Blues for seven straight games. The “Short Leash Line” combined for 20 points in those seven games.
After Game 3 of the series against St. Louis, Tocchet touched on Garland’s growth.
“They’re earning my trust in those situations, especially Garland,” Tocchet said. “I don’t think he played last year on empty-net goals. I’m putting him out there because Garland has structurally got a lot better since last year.”
And yes, Garland finally became the 17-minute player he desired to be and more. In the 2020-21 season, he averaged 17:55 of ice time per game. Nearly a three-minute increase from the season prior. However, it ended up being the winger and Tocchet’s last season in the desert. Although they were reunited down the line…
Trade to the Canucks
The 2021 NHL Entry Draft was approaching and the Coyotes management had been going through some issues. Former general manager John Chayka resigned from his position in July 2020. A month later, Arizona was stripped of their 2020 second-round and 2021 first-round selections due to illegal predraft scouting. Therefore, with no first-round pick heading into the 2021 Draft and wanting to start a rebuild, the back-to-back 39-point scorer’s trade value was the highest it had been.
Garland’s contract had expired and the Coyotes still had control of his contract rights as a restricted free agent. On top of this, former defenseman captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson was being paid a pretty penny and had not been living up to his contract. With that being said, on the 2021 NHL Entry Draft night (July 23, 2021), the Coyotes traded Garland and Ekman-Larsson to the Canucks. In return, Arizona received three older bottom-six forwards, Vancouver’s 2021 ninth-overall selection, a 2022 second-round selection, and a 2023 seventh-round selection.
The Canucks then inked Garland to a five-year $24.75 million contract worth $4.95 million annually.
Coaching Carousel in Vancouver
In three seasons, Garland has had three different coaches behind the bench. In the 2020-21 season, head coach Travis Green was out after an 8-15-2 start. Bruce Boudreau was brought in and helped turn the Canucks season around going 32-15-10. Vancouver finished with a 40-30-12 record and missed the playoffs. Surprisingly, with two different head coaches in one season, the American-born winger set career highs in assists (33) and points (52) in 77 games. Boudreau was brought back to coach the 2022-23 season.
After another slow start to the season with an 18-25-3 record, Boudreau was let go of his coaching duties and Tocchet was given the reins. The Arizona reunion was evident in Garland’s game — in 45 games under Boudreau, the winger scored 22 points. In 36 games under Tocchet, the winger scored 24 points. He capped off the 2022-23 season scoring a hat trick against his former team (the Coyotes) at Mullett Arena.
In the 2023-24 season, Vancouver finally put all the puzzle pieces together. Tocchet remained head coach for the whole season and Garland had another second-half of the season resurgence. He played his first 82-game season in his career, scoring 20 points in the first half of the season and 27 points in the second half. The winger developed chemistry with forward Dakota Joshua. The 6-foot-3, 206-pound power forward benefited from their connection setting career bests in goals (18), assists (14), and points (32) in 63 games. The head coach who paired them together had this to say about their line.
“I’d be crazy to ever split those guys up, they’ve been terrific for us. Whoever you play them with, they’ve usually tilted the ice or at least been neutral. Very rarely they’re on the bad video because they’re very good chemistry wise,” Tocchet said.
Vancouver picked up 50 wins on the season, finishing first in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The Canucks took down the Predators in six games in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. With third-string goalie Arturs Silovs stepping up, the Canucks battled the Oilers to seven games before falling in Game 7. In this series, Garland scored the game-winning goal late in the third period to win Game 1 against Edmonton. A great turnaround season for Vancouver recently awarded Tocchet the Jack Adams Trophy, which is given to the coach of the year each season.
The Garland and Tocchet Connection
Where would Garland be without a coach who trusted and believed in him to succeed? Luckily for both the player and coach after their three years together in Arizona, they met again for the past one and a half seasons in Vancouver. Tocchet has coached the 5-foot-10 winger for over half of his career. From giving him playing time on the Coyotes’ top line with Keller and Schmaltz to reviving his position in Vancouver, Tocchet will not be a forgotten factor in Garland’s success at the NHL level.
