Eight possible landing spots for UFA Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s redemption tour

Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

The Oliver-Ekman Larsson trade two years ago felt doomed from the start for the Vancouver Canucks. He was being paid elite No. 1 defenseman money but, even in 2021, was already in steep decline, getting caved in at both ends of the ice in his final few seasons with the Arizona Coyotes. Joining a Canucks team that was a defensive roller coaster in its own right, he didn’t end up landing in a situation that set him up to flourish.

While he did a passable job moving the puck offensively as a Canuck, he was below average in his own end – or a black hole when you factor in that Vancouver was on the hook for $7.26 million of his $8.25 million cap hit. Over the past two seasons in 5-on-5 play, the Canucks got 46.7 percent of the goals and 48.27 percent of the scoring chances with him on the ice. Rather than continue the slog for four more years with ‘OEL,’ who is 31, GM Patrik Allvin decided last week to pay him $19.3 million over the next eight years not to play for the Canucks. Buyout complete.

So Ekman-Larsson is free to find a new team July 1 as a UFA. That wouldn’t be headline news most years given how much his game has eroded. But it’s an extremely weak UFA class in 2023, and two of its top blueline assets, Damon Severson and Vladislav Gavrikov, signed before making it to market. Suddenly, the idea of adding Ekman-Larsson to play a third-pair role doesn’t sound so bad given it’ll cost very little on the AAV or at least the term.

What route might Ekman-Larsson go? Might he seek a one-year “prove it” contract to try and jack his value back up a year from now? He wouldn’t be the first to do so, albeit that strategy bombed horribly for John Klingberg this past season. Ekman-Larsson could seek more security on a multi-year deal, but which team would be comfortable investing in him for more than one season right now?

Presuming he signs a short-term contract, then, here are some possible destinations to watch for OEL. Keep in mind: he’s already earning $2.416 million in buyout money from Vancouver, so the AAV on his next deal doesn’t necessarily have to be high to entice him. If he’s willing to play for a small number, his options expand greatly – as do his opportunities to have a bounce-back season on a better team.

Boston Bruins

Ekman-Larsson is not Hampus Lindholm, to be clear. But Lindholm’s career was at the very least stuck in neutral when Boston acquired him from the Anaheim Ducks in 2021-22. With a winning operation around him, he morphed back into one of the game’s best all-around defensemen. Could the Bruins rehabilitate Ekman-Larsson similarly? Their $4.5 million in performance bonus overages for Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci make it a pipe dream to re-sign Dmitry Orlov, another left-shot defenseman whose game suddenly exploded in Boston. Could Ekman-Larsson work as a cheap replacement?

Carolina Hurricanes

The bottom of Carolina’s D-corps is set to disappear in free agency, with Calvin de Haan’s and Shayne Gostisbehere’s contracts expiring. Assuming the Canes hold onto their top four of Jaccob Slavin, Brent Burns, Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce, the remaining defensive responsibility would be miniscule for Ekman-Larsson. Carolina would provide perhaps the friendliest environment of any team in terms of maximizing his offensive ability while shielding him from difficult assignments.

Detroit Red Wings

Detroit is excited to break in Simon Edvinsson, sure, but the Steve Yzerman regime, just like the Ken Holland one before it, prefers its prospects to earn spots rather than have spots handed to them. Adding a veteran to push him wouldn’t be the worst idea. The Wings only have four definite NHL defenseman signed for 2023-24 anyway. A cheap one-year deal for OEL could also (a) provide a mentor for countryman Edvinsson and (b) serve as a tradeable insurance policy next winter if Detroit again finds itself outside the playoff picture again.

Florida Panthers

The Panthers are beaten to a pulp on defense, with Brandon Montour and Aaron Ekblad both requiring shoulder surgery after their taxing run to the Stanley Cup Final. Radko Gudas is a UFA. All three of them are righties, yes, but pending UFA Marc Staal is a lefty. Wouldn’t Ekman-Larsson, five years his junior, constitute an upgrade?

New York Islanders

Consecutive playoff misses be damned, GM Lou Lamoriello remains determined to treat his team like a contender, as evidenced by mortgaging futures to get Bo Horvat this past winter. The Isles already have a rock-solid top four with Adam Pelech, Ryan Pulock, Noah Dobson and Alexander Romanov, so they’d provide a well-insulated landing spot for Ekman-Larsson, whose puck-moving could come in handy for a team that struggles to score on the regular.

Seattle Kraken

The Kraken are reasonably deep on defense but might lose the hulking Carson Soucy as a UFA, as his game is the type that will attract an overpay from a contender looking to bulk up. They also have to devote serious cap space toward re-signing RFA Vince Dunn. Ekman-Larsson on a one-year deal could offer a cheap option to fill out their third pair without gouging their cap space too much.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Kevin Shattenkirk. Zach Bogosian. Luke Schenn. Ian Cole. The Lightning specialize in rehabilitating veteran D-men via sheltered depth roles. Wouldn’t signing Ekman-Larsson be peak Tampa? He could play behind Victor Hedman and Mikhail Sergachev. The Bolts are already maxed out at the cap and have to pay Tanner Jeannot and Ross Colton, with Alex Killorn and Cole set to walk as UFAs. Ekman-Larsson would be an ideal Cole replacement.

Vegas Golden Knights

If Ekman-Larsson wants a sheltered environment that could build his value back up on a one-year deal: it doesn’t get any better than the defending champs, right? If they’re able to move Alec Martinez’s $5.25 million AAV, which is a possibility according to DFO’s own Frank Seravalli, they could fill that spot on their left side with Ekman-Larsson at a fraction of the cost.

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