Shifty winger and whirling dervish Conor Garland wore this Red Set 2 game worn jersey during the second half of the 2019-2020 NHL season until the season was postponed due to the COVID pandemic.
Garland’s unexpected rise from also ran in the AHL to budding NHL star was solidified in 2019-2020.
Prior to the season, Garland signed a two-year contract extension that would pay him $775,000 per year.
It has turned out to be one of the biggest bargains in the NHL.
2019-2020 was Garland’s first full season and he led the team in goals with 22 while hanging in there with Taylor Hall for most exciting player in a Yotes sweater.
His jersey shows some of that newfound security, as well.
In his rookie season, Garland was just a call-up. Most call-ups don’t get much of a say so in specs of their sweaters, and Garland was no exception. His rookie gamer was a size 56, which is fairly standard across the NHL but a bit large on a player the size of Conor.
In 2019-2020, with the benefit of his newly signed one-way contract guaranteeing him a spot on the roster in some capacity, Garland switched to a size 54 jersey.
This Red Set 2 gamer is actually quite pristine by Conor Garland’s standards.
Typically, Garland’s jerseys are littered with stick marks and repairs or burns. Not so with this one.
It was worn in just 6 games from January 14th, 2020 to February 25th, 2020.
The pandemic cut the set wear by more than a month, but it also lost games to the increasing use of the Kachinas at home by the Arizona Coyotes. As the Kachinas continue to see more and more games, it’s the familiar red jerseys that are shunted to the side.
Although it wasn’t worn a ton, Garland did score 4 goals and 3 assists in those 6 contests.
The most noticeable wear on the sweater is at the waist. There is a considerable amount of pilling all the way across. There is also one small stick mark on the left sleeve.
Beyond that, the jersey is fairly clean beyond some wash wear and Stan Wilson’s set dates on the back of the crest.
“G” is off to a torrid start with the Yotes scoring 14 points in 15 games. If he keeps up this pace, he’ll be making several multiples of $775,000 on his contract for next season.