Free agency may bring D- man home
But White Rock’s Garrison says first choice is Florida
By his own admission, White Rock’s Jason Garrison was a late bloomer.
The Florida Panthers defenceman couldn’t make Triple A rep teams in the Semiahmoo Minor Hockey Association until he reached midget age and all the better players had moved on.
He made the junior B Richmond Sockeyes at 18 and the BCHL’S Nanaimo Clippers at 19. Finally, when he was 20, he began to open some eyes and was offered a scholarship to NCAA Minnesota- Duluth. Three years later, he was signed by the Panthers as an undrafted free agent.
Now Garrison stands to hit the jackpot July 1 as an unrestricted free agent — or before July 1 if the Panthers re- sign him first. He earned $ 675,000 in 2011- 12, a season in which he scored 16 goals, nine of them on the power play.
Garrison maintains his first priority is to keep his talents in Florida, but if not, he’d be happy to listen to anything the Vancouver Canucks might have to offer.
“I have such a good thing here in Florida,” Garrison said Wednesday. “I love the organization and my teammates. I have so many good friends and I’d hate to see myself playing somewhere else. But, I mean, ultimately it’s not all up to me.
“So it’s just kind of a waiting game now to see whether I’m going to re- sign with the Panthers. As it gets closer to that end of June- July 1 date, I’ll obviously start weighing my options and seeing what’s out there.”
So if the Canucks came calling?
“For sure, I’d listen,” replied Garrison, 27. “I was a Canuck fan growing up. I even played during one of the intermissions at the Coliseum and I remember Trevor Linden and Jyrki Lumme being on that team. All my friends and family are big Canuck fans. They give me a hard time about being all the way out here in Florida.
“So it’s about the situation and how you fit in with the team. I’d definitely be listening if that was the case on July 1.”
The Canucks do have six defencemen under contract for next season, but both Sami Salo and Aaron Rome are heading to unrestricted free agency while Marc- Andre Gragnani will be restricted if qualified. Garrison’s power- play prowess might be attractive to Vancouver, especially if the Shea Weber fantasy trade never happens.
Garrison wouldn’t mind getting on with his life but understands there is a wait involved for players heading to July 1.
“Definitely it would be really nice to know where I’ll be playing next year,” he said. “Nobody really wants to sit around and wait it out. So I am definitely looking forward to seeing what happens, whether it happens sooner or later. I think things will start happening in June once most of the playoffs are over and the world championships are done and it’s getting close to the draft. That seems to be the timeline for this situation.”
ICE CHIPS: Canuck assistant GM Laurence Gilman confirmed Wednesday that next fall’s Young Stars prospects tournament in Penticton has been cancelled. The collective bargaining agreement concludes Sept. 15 and, with a possible lockout coming, it appears the tourney is a victim. ... The Canucks still intend to proceed with their annual development camp in early July.