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Jason Garrison Sticks With #52


Franz Liszt

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Hi. Don't know if this has been posted or not.

And if you want to get a Garrison jersey sooner than later, here you go.

http://www.theprovince.com/sports/Canucks+will+Garrison+sticking+with+jersey+prospect/6872224/story.html

It’s customary for a player to switch numbers when he switches teams.

However, don’t expect Jason Garrison to turn in his No. 52 when he suits up with the Vancouver Canucks next NHL season.

The unrestricted free agent defenceman agreed to a six-year contract Sunday and with an annual salary cap hit of $4.6 million US, and the 27-year-old White Rock native will keep a reminder to remain humble on his back. After all, when you rocket from $700,000 US annually with the Florida Panthers to a contract worth $27.6 million, it could be easy to have your head in the clouds and your feet off the ground. Especially if you grew up idolizing the Canucks and hoping to play for the hometown team one day.

“The number was given to me my first pro development camp,” Garrison said Monday from Chicago, where he attended the NHLPA meetings, a wedding and then sat with agent Matt Oates as free agency unfolded. “I’m not too picky with numbers and I get a lot of guys telling me I need to switch, but I haven’t given it much thought. It’s grown on me a bit.”

Garrison is coming off a breakout season and his 16 goals were third among NHL blueliners behind Shea Weber and Erik Karlsson, who had 19 apiece. His nine power-play goals were just one behind Weber, who led that category. However, after just five goals in 2010-11, several suitors had to be confident that Garrison was taking another career development step because the undrafted late-bloomer didn’t even play junior hockey until age 19 with the BCHL Nanaimo Clippers. He played his minor hockey in Burnaby, Aldergrove and Semiahmoo.

After playing with Mason Raymond at the University of Minnesota-Duluth and then signing with the Panthers, it’s been a slow yet steady rise for Garrison, to the point where he set a franchise record for goals by a defenceman on a pairing with Brian Campbell on the power play. He’s likely to line up with Alex Edler and get ample opportunity to unload a heavy power play slap shot, something the Canucks will need after losing Sami Salo to the Tampa Bay Lightning in free agency.

“I’m not going to be complacent at all with what happened and I just want to keep developing as a player and get more experience,” said Garrison. “It [complacency] is not my mindset. I’m looking forward to being a better player each year. I spoke with Mike Gillis a little bit prior to signing and talked about the role I play and how it would be a good fit for me. With the way the team is coached, it’s a system I can step into and help. I’ll play wherever they need me to play.”

The transition will be made easier by familiarity. Aside from Raymond, Garrison has played with David Booth, Keith Ballard and Chris Higgins in Florida. He chatted with his former college teammate just to confirm everything he had already heard about the Vancouver organization.

“I spoke with Mason just a little bit and we’re really good friends,” said Garrison. “From Day 1 when we turned pro, we’ve chatted about everything. It’s one of those things where I feel a little comfortable knowing some of them more. But you talk to anybody and there’s not one bad thing said. In that regard, it’s a pretty easy conversation to have. It’s a first-class organization with management, coaches and players. I’m just really looking forward to it.”

Garrison has been on the Canucks’ radar for some time. However, the hope was that he would do what Dan Hamhuis, Henrik and Daniel Sedin and Kevin Bieksa all did. They took less than market value to remain here with a team that still has a window to win it all. Garrison left money on the table -- Dennis Wideman, 29, turned 11 goals and 46 points with the Washington Capitals into a five-year, $26.25-million deal with the Calgary Flames.

“For me, it’s not just financially,” stressed Garrison. “You want to be on a good team that has a chance to win and that’s a big factor for me at least. The Canucks are so close to winning and I just want to try and fit in wherever I can. And it’s just such a different experience to be a lot closer to my friends and family and playing for a team you watched growing up.”

Watching free agency unfold was something that gave Garrison anticipation and some angst.

“It’s a long day,” he said. “It was something I never experienced before obviously. It’s pretty crazy and it’s the business side of it and how it breaks down. To be with my agent in Chicago and see it first-hand, it was all worth it in the end.”

The Canucks seem confident they can say the same.

Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/sports/Canucks+will+Garrison+sticking+with+jersey+prospect/6872224/story.html#ixzz1zmYZXfPW

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