VANCOUVER --
It cost him a first-round pick but Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning believes he made his team better with a blockbuster trade ahead of the NHL entry draft Friday.
The Canucks sent the No. 9 selection in this year's draft to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for right-winger Conor Garland and defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
The trade also includes Vancouver forwards Jay Beagle, Loui Eriksson and Antoine Roussel, the Canucks' second-round pick in 2022 and its seventh-round pick in 2023.
“We didn't take lightly moving that ninth overall pick in the draft. That was a hard decision to make. But we just looked as everything we could accomplish by doing it,” Benning said.