The Vancouver Canucks could attempt to trade defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson this offseason, at least according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. While Friedman admits that the move would be difficult to make, he believes they might be laying the groundwork for a potential offer sheet and in an attempt to move money, Ekman-Larsson could be part of the larger overall picture.
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Perhaps the two moves are not related. Perhaps the Canucks don’t consider an offer sheet. Maybe Ekman-Larsson can’t be moved because of his contract, but Friedman’s reports suggest the Canucks are seriously thinking about making bigger moves.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson Canucks
While speaking with Don Taylor and Rick Dhaliwal on CHEK TV, Friedman said he expects the Canucks to try to be “very aggressive” this offseason, and suggests they will look around to see if there’s a market for Ekman-Larsson. Understanding that the term left on his deal, the $7.26 million annually against the salary cap, and Ekman-Larsson’s ability to squash any trade all pose hurdles to any potential deal, Friedman added, “I don’t know if the OEL thing is going to work… but I do think the Canucks are trying to see if there’s anything they could potentially do there.”
Ekman-Larsson didn’t have a terrible season, but he’s 30 years old, expensive, and not the player he used to be. With a tight salary cap and teams struggling to fit in their own players, adding his contract would be a chore. So too, something would have had to change in the last two seasons, seasons in which OEL was only interested in playing for either the Canucks or the Boston Bruins.
It is unlikely Ekman-Larsson would willingly accept a move out of Vancouver after just one season with the team. It would start the entire process of him trying to find a club and a situation that works, and to say the least, that was complicated the last time through.
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