A late bloomer who switched from forward to defense in junior hockey, the undrafted Garrison drew notice from NHL teams while at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, even though injuries limited him to 87 games in his three college seasons.
Garrison signed with the Florida Panthers before the 2008-09 season, foregoing his final year of college eligibility. Following a full season in the American Hockey League - there was a one-game call-up his first year - Garrison played 39 games for the Panthers in 2009-10.
A late bloomer who switched from forward to defense in junior hockey, the undrafted Garrison drew notice from NHL teams while at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, even though injuries limited him to 87 games in his three college seasons.
Garrison signed with the Florida Panthers before the 2008-09 season, foregoing his final year of college eligibility. Following a full season in the American Hockey League - there was a one-game call-up his first year - Garrison played 39 games for the Panthers in 2009-10.
By the next season he was a regular on defense, and he broke out in 2011-12, setting a Panthers record for goals by a defenseman with 16 and tying the team mark for power-play goals by a defenseman with nine.
The White Rock, British Columbia native signed a six-year contract with his hometown team, the Vancouver Canucks, in July 2012, but Vancouver traded him to Tampa Bay before the 2014-15 season.
Garrison helped solidify the Lightning defense, settling in a top-four role and becoming a key penalty-killer as Tampa Bay reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2015 and the Eastern Conference Final in 2016.
In Tampa Bay's 2015-16 season-opening victory against the Philadelphia Flyers, Garrison became the first player to score an overtime goal in the new 3-on-3 format. In 2016, he scored the winning goal in overtime of Game 4 of the Second Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the New York Islanders.
NOTES & TRANSACTIONS
- Signed as a free agent by Florida, April 2, 2008.
- Signed as a free agent by Vancouver, July 1, 2012.
- Traded to Tampa Bay by Vancouver with Jeff Costello and Vancouver's 7th round pick (later traded to Minnesota -- Minnesota selected Jack Sedak) in 2015 NHL Draft for Tampa Bay's 2nd round pick (later traded to Los Angeles -- Los Angeles selected Roland McKeown) in 2014 NHL Draft, June 27, 2014.
- Claimed by Vegas from Tampa Bay in Expansion Draft, June 21, 2017.
- Signed as a free agent by Edmonton, October 2, 2018.
- Traded to Chicago by Edmonton with Drake Caggiula for Brandon Manning and Robin Norell, December 30, 2018.
