Maple Leafs’ Oliver Ekman-Larsson exits with lower-body injury

Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson suffered a lower-body injury Saturday versus the Edmonton Oilers late in the first period and did not return.

Prior to his exit, Ekman-Larsson saw 5:09 in ice time and was also penalized two minutes for tripping.

Skating in his first season with the Maple Leafs, Ekman-Larsson has made 50 appearances in which he has collected three goals and 18 assists for 21 points alongside 36 penalty minutes and a plus-15 rating.

Ekman-Larsson joined the Maple Leafs in July, agreeing to a four-year, $3.5-million per season deal in unrestricted free agency. The 33-year-old Swedish blue-liner signed with Toronto after spending the 2023-24 campaign with the Florida Panthers, where through 80 contests he posted 32 points counting nine goals and 23 assists before adding another six points in 24 postseason appearances to help the Panthers hoist the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history.

Ekman-Larsson has also seen success in international competition, highlighted by back-to-back gold-medal finishes at the IIHF World Championship in 2017 and 2018. The latter year saw Ekman-Larsson finish sixth in Team Sweden scoring and first among defensemen after he notched two goals and five assists for seven points through 10 tournament contests.

Originally chosen sixth overall in the 2009 NHL Draft by the former Arizona Coyotes, Ekman-Larsson has seen 1,032 career contests counting stops with the Coyotes, Vancouver Canucks, Panthers, and Maple Leafs in which he has collected 147 goals and 345 assists for 492 points. With the Coyotes in 2015-16, Ekman-Larsson reached a career high of 55 points. The offensive-minded rearguard was also a two-time 20-goal scorer during his time in Arizona.

Entering Saturday’s contest against the Oilers, the Maple Leafs sat 30-19-2 on the season and three points back of the Panthers for top spot in the Atlantic Division.