The Vancouver Canucks announced on Friday afternoon that they have bought out the contract of Swedish defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
The one who will be a free agent on 1er July will be paid $19.33 million over the next eight years. There were four more years and $29 million left on an eight-year, $66 million deal he signed with the Arizona Coyotes in 2018.
“We want to thank Oliver for his time in Vancouver,” said Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin. The world of hockey is very complex and difficult decisions have to be made in order to remain competitive. The takeover of Oliver gives us much more flexibility and leeway for the next two years and considerably reduces its impact on the following seasons.
We expect the cap to increase significantly after this year, so now is a good time to make this buyback. Our organization is committed to doing whatever is necessary to improve, on and off the ice, and to move forward in a positive direction.
Patrik Allvin, Canucks general manager
The 31-year-old Ekman-Larsson was acquired by the Canucks in a trade from the Arizona Coyotes in July 2021. He hasn’t had the desired impact on the Canucks’ defense, however. The British Columbia team also posted the ninth-worst defensive record in the league and missed the playoffs.
Conor Garland was also acquired by the Canucks in this trade. In return, they got Jay Beagle, Loui Eriksson, Antoine Roussel, a 2021 first-round pick (Dylan Guenther), a 2022 second-round pick and a 2023 seventh-round pick.
As part of this transaction, the Coyotes kept 12% of Ekman-Larsson’s salary. Therefore, the remaining costs and the current cap are split between the two teams based on the percentage of salary retained by the respective clubs.
In two seasons with the Canucks, Ekman-Larsson appeared in 133 games, registering seven goals and 44 assists, for a total of 51 points. The 13-year-old NHL veteran finished his second and final season in Vancouver on injured reserve, missing the final 27 games of the year with an ankle injury.