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Oliver Ekman-Larsson to Vancouver? Maybe it does make some sense? |
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When Oliver Ekman-Larsson's name was first linked to the Vancouver Canucks earlier in the week, I didn't give the rumours much thought.
OEL's a lefty, and the Canucks are fine on the left side with Quinn Hughes and Alex Edler eating the majority of the minutes. Plus, a player with seven years left on a contract that carries a cap hit of $8.25 million a season doesn't exactly seem like an easy fit for a Vancouver team that's already under pressure to free up cap space in order to make room for its own free agents - both the UFA and RFA varieties.
But the noise got louder. And when I started wondering why, I realized that it's probably Ekman-Larsson, with his full no-move clause, who's saying "If you really want to consider trading me, Vancouver's a place I wouldn't mind going."
I'm still seeing all hockey through a Tampa Bay Lightning lens this week. Remember when Martin St. Louis had that falling out with Steve Yzerman after he was left off the Team Canada roster for the 2014 Olympics, then said the only trade he'd accept would be to the Rangers?
Yzerman got it done at the 2014 trade deadline, a couple of weeks after the Olympics ended.
He dealt St. Louis, then 38 and with one year left on the deal that paid him $5.625 million, to New York - a team that never has cap space to spare, yet always seems to be able to find ways to reel in big fish.
The full terms of the trade:
- the Rangers got St. Louis and a 2015 second-rounder, which was eventually dealt to Arizona as part of the Keith Yandle trade at the 2015 deadline. The Coyotes went on to deal the pick to Calgary; they used it on defenseman Oliver Kylington.
- the Lightning got winger Ryan Callahan, who stayed with Tampa Bay until retiring at the end of the 2018-19 season, plus a handful of draft picks.
The 2014 first-rounder was traded to the New York Islanders, who chose Josh Ho-Sang, in exchange for two second-rounders - a pair of defensemen who don't appear to have panned out. One is now in the KHL and the other didn't play hockey in the 2019-20 season.
The 2015 first-rounder was also traded to the Islanders, who did better this time around when they chose Anthony Beauvillier. The Lightning did better too, though. This time, they got a second and a third, but they used the third to select Anthony Cirelli, who's now a franchise mainstay. And with the second, they took Mitchell Stephens, a center who played 38 regular-season games this year and also got into seven playoff games, scoring one goal.
The Lightning also got a seventh-rounder from the Rangers, which they dealt back to New York in 2015 in exchange for defenseman Daniel Walcott, who's now 26 but had a solid season with the Syracuse Crunch this year.
Like Ekman-Larsson, St. Louis was a relatively new team captain when that deal went down. He was in his first season, after Vincent Lecavalier was given a compliance buyout at the end of the shortened 2012-13 season. OEL took over the Coyotes' captaincy in 2018, after Shane Doan retired. But unlike St. Louis, it sounds like the idea of trading Ekman-Larsson originated from the organizational side of the Coyotes, in an effort to save some real dollars.
I suppose my biggest takeaway here is that the Canucks have now worked their way up to the point where they're a desired destination for a big-ticket player. When I thought about why, I tried to remember whether OEL had played with Elias Pettersson at World Championships.
That would be a yes. Twice.
In 2018, Petey had three points in five games before breaking his thumb. Ekman-Larsson was an assistant captain and had seven points in 10 games on that team, which was led offensively by Rikard Rackell and Mika Zibanejad, and went on to win a second-straight gold medal for the Swedes.
In 2019, Petey was healthy and was tied for second in team scoring with 10 points in eight games. William Nylander was the offensive monster, with 18 points.
OEL was the captain of that squad, which went 5-0-2 in round-robin play but was left out of the medals after suffering a 5-4 overtime defeat in the quarterfinal at the hand of those pesky Finns, who went on to also beat Russia and Canada on their way to a gold medal.
So - how flattered is Jim Benning that Vancouver is one of OEL's preferred destinations, apparently along with Boston? And does that feeling make him more inclined to do a deal than he would be otherwise?
In normal circumstances, it might not make sense to do a trade like this, when there are other defensemen who can be acquired at no charge through free agency. Maybe this is a case where the Coyotes' strong desire to get a deal done - and a totally green general manager in Bill Armstrong, who has been on the job for barely two weeks - could see Vancouver able to use this situation to deal with some issues of their own. Even though the Coyotes are trying to cut down on spending, perhaps they'd be willing to take on a contract like Brandon Sutter or Jay Beagle to add veteran presence to their lineup - and to be out from under it much sooner than they would be with Ekman-Larsson.
I could even understand how the Canucks might look at OEL as a long-term replacement for Edler, who will be 35 when his contract expires net year. But it would crowd the left side for the upcoming season - when we expect to see Olli Juolevi get a real look, and Jack Rathbone also maybe take a shot at cracking in the lineup.
Would Travis Green consider moving Quinn Hughes to the right side? When he first came, he said he was comfortable on either side. Maybe that would make sense, especially if his usual partner, Chris Tanev, doesn't return.
One other thought: the Coyotes lost a slew of draft picks as punishment for conducting independent fitness tests of draft prospects, which is very much against the rules. I imagine they'd like to recoup some picks in an Ekman-Larsson deal, to start the next phase of their franchise evolution. Of course, picks are in short supply in Vancouver, after this year's first was moved in the J.T. Miller trade and the second went to L.A. as part of the Tyler Toffoli deal.
If this deal goes through, I wouldn't be surprised to see a 2021 pick included. Maybe a second?
So - I guess I do think this is real. I feel like Ekman-Larsson has been inconsistent in his career, but I also feel like he has a good toolbox and has perhaps been held back a bit by being in Phoenix all these years.
Again, thinking about Tampa Bay - their defense is DEEP, anchored by Conn Smythe winner Victor Hedman - who's just a few months older than OEL. They were drafted four picks apart in 2009: Hedman went second and Ekman-Larsson went sixth, but OEL spent one more year in Sweden before coming over to the NHL.
We know the Canucks need an overall upgrade on the blue line, and Benning seems like he has had a bit of a tough time finding trading partners to help with Vancouver's cap issues. Perhaps an OEL deal *can* kill two birds with one stone?
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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