Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s time with the Vancouver Canucks wasn’t the most glorious.
In addition, his stay in British Columbia ended much earlier than expected. Just two seasons after he was acquired from the Vancouverites in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes, Ekman-Larsson’s contract was bought out by the club on June 16.
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According to his own statement, he did not expect this.
“I was surprised. We had end-of-season meetings and I didn’t expect it at all,” the 32-year-old defender told journalist Thomas Drance of The Athletic.
It must be said that the Swede’s performances clearly did not correspond to his contract worth $8.25 million per season – the Coyotes retained 12% of that salary – and it took four more years for the agreement to take effect. Deadline, the “Nucks” prefer to cancel the experiment.
Despite everything, Ekman-Larsson understands that this is part of the reality in the National Hockey League (NHL) and doesn’t blame the Canucks.
“There were ups and downs and we didn’t make the playoffs, we struggled as a team, there were a lot of changes,” Ekman-Larsson said. It wasn’t easy, but I can’t say anything bad about the city of Vancouver or the organization. It’s just part of the business. When something like that happens, you’re disappointed and unprepared for it.”
A few weeks after that disappointment, the sixth overall pick in the 2009 draft agreed to a one-year, $2.25 million pact with the Florida Panthers. He also seems to be doing well at his new club, spending an average of 25 minutes and 31 seconds on the ice per game.
With the Canucks, Ekman-Larsson collected 51 points in 133 games between 2021 and 2023. After this buyout, the team will pay him $17 million over the next eight years.