Oliver Ekman-Larsson bought out by Vancouver

The window for buyouts in the National Hockey League officially opened today and the Vancouver Canucks have wasted no time. They have bought out defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Ekman-Larsson played two seasons with Vancouver prior to the buyout, scoring seven goals and 44 assists for a total of 51 points across two seasons with the team.

There is word this afternoon that Vancouver will buy out Oliver Ekman-Larsson. He will be an unrestricted free agent.

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 16, 2023

How did we get here?

Oliver Ekman-Larsson was once an analytical darling defenseman and the new franchise face of the Arizona Coyotes after Shane Doan’s retirement. He was the only member of the 2011-12 Coyotes team that made the Western Conference Final to still be in Glendale by the start of the 2017-18 season. On the first day of the 2018-19 NHL year, then-Coyotes general manager John Chayka signed Ekman-Larsson to an eight-year contract with the intent to lock down the face of the Coyotes’ blue line. At the time, it was fully justified.

Prime Oliver Ekman-Larsson was so good 😥 pic.twitter.com/3tWFJoLvWI

— Evolving-Hockey (@EvolvingHockey) June 16, 2023

As the graph shows, the extension was a grave mistake from the moment the contract was signed. Ekman-Larsson’s play saw an exponential decline that he could never fully recover from. The Coyotes wanted to get out of his contract and quickly. They tried trading him away during the 2020 offseason, but to no avail.

The next offseason, Arizona finally put together a deal with Vancouver. The following trade was made:

🚨 TRADE ALERT 🚨 #Canucks acquire defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and forward Conor Garland from the Arizona Coyotes.

DETAILS ➡️ https://t.co/VwgUTFVRAO#CanucksDraft | @ToyotaPacific pic.twitter.com/58I41nbENo

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) July 23, 2021

In the two years since, Ekman-Larsson, try as he might, could not rekindle his peak form. Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin, seeing the writing on the wall, decided to buy out the defenseman. The breakdown of the buyout is as follows:

Massive buyout for Oliver Ekman-Larsson sprinkled over the next 8 years. The #Canucks are paying him $19.5 million in real cash to go away, per @CapFriendly. pic.twitter.com/zSwNBPHLPh

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) June 16, 2023

What teams should expect from Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Oliver Ekman-Larsson is in no way what he once was. His defensive metrics in particular have taken an irreversible nosedive and his offense is alright, but not worth $8.25 million per year for four more years.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson has been bought out by VAN.

He's a veteran offensive defenceman who kept his head above water in his first season with the club but the erosion of his transition play and defence was too much to justify anything close to his term and cap hit. #Canucks pic.twitter.com/PbkOejLB3x

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) June 16, 2023

Oliver Ekman-Larsson is still very capable as an NHL-level defenseman, there’s no denying that. He will get looks from several teams, particularly those looking for third-pairing left-handed defensemen. Teams that immediately come to mind include Carolina, Florida, Colorado, and perhaps Toronto if Jake Muzzin cannot return to play.

There is no denying Oliver Ekman-Larsson will get a lot of attention in free agency. Perhaps he gets so much attention a bidding war ensues and he goes from one nigh unmovable contract to another one. Either way, he will have a new home in about two weeks’ time.

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