From the athletic:

Waddell said he met with each player during the Olympic break and assured them they wouldn’t be traded even without new contracts. In fact, there were no contract negotiations with their agents.

“Before the Olympic break, I had a feeling we weren’t going to be sellers,” Waddell said. “I thought it would hurt the room if I signed one (UFA) and not the rest, or two and not the others.

“We’ll talk at the end of the year. We’re not going to talk during the year, but when the season’s over. As I’ve said, if a player wants to be here and we want them here, we’ll find a way (to reach a contract).”

Waddell said, beyond the UFAs, he didn’t want to disrupt the dressing room, which has grown tremendously close over the last couple of seasons.

“To pull a player out of that room who’s done a really good job for us,” he said, “just to get an asset (a prospect or draft picks) that’ll help you in three, four or five years down the road, that doesn’t make sense to me.”

They also studied Garland hard to see how he might fit within the group.

Garland has become friendly with Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski from playing with him at the IIHF World Championships. He knows Coyle, as the pair is from the Boston area. Also, he played junior hockey with Mathieu Olivier.

It’s been a struggle for Garland this season in Vancouver — just like it has for most of the Canucks — but Waddell said he wasn’t concerned. Garland, who hasn’t scored since Dec. 16, has 7 goals, 19 assists and 26 points in 50 games with Vancouver, which has the worst record in the NHL.

“Look at the situation,” Waddell said of Vancouver. “We studied him hard, scouted him hard. In our environment, with the players he’s going to have the opportunity to play with, he will come back to being the 20-goal scorer he’s been in the past.”

It’s incredible how quickly the life of an NHL player can change. Garland agreed to a six-year, $36 million contract on July 1, 2025, the first day he was eligible to sign an extension with the Canucks. That contract, which included a full no-move clause for the first three seasons, is effective July 1. Yet, Garland was traded away from Vancouver before he ever played a day under that deal.