Canucks pay $66M to defenceman Oliver Ekman–Larsson. Lightning

Vancouver Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau turned heads on Thursday when he admitted defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson could be a healthy scratch for the team’s contest against the Tampa Bay Lightning that night.

“Look, we’ll have to scratch a couple of players,” Boudreau explained. “I think [Ekman-Larsson] can be better, but I think there’s a lot of guys that can be better. Now it’s about accountability. It’s about a lot of things, so it’s something you don’t want to do. He’s arguably our best defenceman, but sometimes you have to do what you think is the best thing for the team right at that moment and that’s apparently where I am.”

Ekman Larsson was in fact kept out of the starting lineup and was forced into watching the game from the press box. It was the first time since March 29, 2011 — 4,307 days ago He was the unfortunate one.

Ekman–Larsson is a 13-year veteran of the NHL. He has scored a team record 57 goals and the Canucks currently sit 12th in Western Conference, with 37 points. With three games remaining, they trail the Edmonton Oilers 10 points for the final wild card spot.

Ekman-Larsson is now in his second season with Vancouver. He has scored a goal, 17 assists, and a Corsi For score of 45.2. In addition, he averages 20:28 minutes of ice time per night.

In 2021 the Arizona Coyotes purchased Conor Garland, a native of Sweden. In this deal, the Canucks sent Loui Eriksson (with Jay Beagle and Antoine Roussel), as well as a number draft picks to Arizona.

Ekman Larsson is currently in fourth year of an $8.25M contract. It covers eight years and has a $66M value. At $8.25M, he is a premium seat in the press box.

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