It wasn't easy for Conor Garland to suddenly leave the Arizona Coyotes and his longtime friends and former teammates in the organization when he was traded over the summer to the Vancouver Canucks.
Garland on Friday admitted as much. He said he was on board with the team's plan to rebuild, given how invested he was in the franchise. But the trade of he and longtime Coyotes captain Oliver Ekman-Larrson to Vancouver happened, and since then, the Canucks, too, have gone through sweeping changes.
Saying goodbye to the players, including forward Clayton Keller and others still with the Coyotes, was tough.