When the Vancouver Canucks take on the Tampa Bay Lightning Thursday night, it appears as though they will have a $7.26M defenseman sitting in the press box. Oliver Ekman-Larsson was with Kyle Burroughs on the fourth pairing at the morning skate according to Patrick Johnston of The Province, with Travis Dermott taking his place next to Tyler Myers.
Head coach Bruce Boudreau was asked directly about it, and said scratching Ekman-Larsson was “potentially true” though did then go on to call him “arguably [their] best defenseman.”
Ekman-Larsson, 31, has been dreadful this season for the Canucks, who have been outscored 44-34 at even strength with him on the ice. Those 44 goals against put him 7th-worst in the entire league among defensemen, and the worst on Vancouver.
Since arriving from the Arizona Coyotes in a massive 2021 trade, his goal-scoring has also dried up. A two-time 20-goal scorer, Ekman-Larsson has just six in 119 games since joining Vancouver.
What has happened to the Canucks this season isn’t all his fault, but he is emblematic of the problem the team faces. They are not competitive, and yet have plenty of long-term, big-money contracts on the books. The $7.26M for Ekman-Larsson isn’t even his full contract – the Coyotes retained $990K per season when they dealt him. It extends through 2026-27, and includes a full no-movement clause that he would have to waive to orchestrate any kind of exit (other than a buyout, which currently would extend through 2031).
The Canucks have more than $69M committed to just 14 players for next season. That does not include Bo Horvat or Andrei Kuzmenko, who are both pending unrestricted free agents.
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