You can add the name Oliver Ekman-Larsson to this summer’s UFA D crop.
On Friday afternoon, the Canucks bought the last four years of the 31-year-old Blues’ eight-year contract for $66 million. Incredibly, Vancouver would pay him not to play for them for eight years. Shout out to Jim Bening.
Enter the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Assuming Ekman-Larsson’s free agent value is a short-term ‘show me’ type deal, it might make a lot of sense for the Leafs to consider at least taking a flyer on him.
An unknown hockey industry source put it perfectly, “He’s still an NHL guy. Just in a terrible deal.”
And to be fair, it’s pretty accurate.
In addition, the Swede has two very strong links currently working for the Maple Leafs: GM Brad Treliving and GM Shane Doan’s Special Counsel. For what it’s worth, the Calgary Flames were loosely tied to the OEL a few years ago when the Coyotes were looking to trade him. He ended up in Vancouver.
Connect the dots.
And there you are.
At this point in his career, there is little doubt that Ekman-Larson’s days as a two-man defender may be behind him. However, the consensus around the league is that it still has a lot to offer. Plus, for comparison’s sake, I think the prime example of a terraforming project that has bounced back after hard times is Kevin Shattenkirk. After being bought by the New York Rangers in the summer of 2019, the 34-year-old signed a one-year, $1.75 million contract in hopes of getting his career back on track. Suffice it to say, it worked for him (and then some) to win the Stanley Cup. After that, he made a three-year deal with the Anaheim Ducks.
Overall, if there’s one thing – other than the obvious – the Leafs have to tackle this summer, it’s the back end. When you look at what Vegas and Florida, specifically, have brought to the table, Toronto isn’t even in the same stratosphere. They need more depth. And not just any depth, top 4 depth. Lots of depth.
For the right price, Oliver Ekman-Larson can help the Toronto Maple Leafs.