The Vancouver Canucks bought out alternate captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson, the team announced Friday. Here’s what you need to know:
- Ekman-Larsson, 31, had four more seasons on his contract that carried an AAV of $8.25 million a year.
- The buyout — which spans eight years — will drop Ekman-Larsson’s cap hit to just $146,667 for next season, increasing to a high of $4,766,667 for both the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons, before falling to $2,126,667 for the final four seasons.
- With the buyout, Ekman-Larsson becomes an unrestricted free agent.
- Over his 13-year career, Ekman-Larsson has played 902 games, recording 135 goals and 304 assists.
General Manager Patrik Allvin announced today that the club has bought out defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
DETAILS | https://t.co/iGgjlU6RNa pic.twitter.com/WRfopmy4qL
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) June 16, 2023
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
Why now?
Vancouver had the tightest cap crunch of any team in the NHL as they were already exceeding the $83.5 million projected limit. There was no way for the Canucks to accomplish their offseason objectives like acquiring a third-line center and upgrading the blue line without first clearing out salary. Vancouver’s been shopping contracts like Conor Garland and Brock Boeser’s for quite some time with limited interest from teams.
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Ekman-Larsson’s play fell off dramatically this past season. He was nowhere near a top-four caliber defender because of significantly diminished mobility.
Buying Ekman-Larsson out instantly frees up roughly $7.1 million in cap space this summer and $4.9 million for 2024-25. The savings taper off in future years, which is why a buyout only made sense if executed now. That flexibility will come at a significant cost, however, as OEL will have a dead cap hit until 2031.
For Ekman-Larsson, this is a chance for a fresh start. He’ll be healthy this summer compared to last offseason when he was rehabbing an injury. And he’ll no longer have the weight of living up to a mammoth contract on his shoulders anymore. — Dayal
Backstory
Ekman-Larsson was traded to the Canucks by the Arizona Coyotes in July 2021. With the Canucks, the defenseman has played 133 games, recording seven goals and 44 assists.
Ekman-Larsson underperformed this season before sustaining a left ankle injury against the New York Rangers on Feb. 15 — his last game as a Canuck. Vancouver placed him on the injured reserve on Feb. 21.
The Canucks finished sixth in the Pacific Division last season with a 38-37-7 record.
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(Photo: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)