The Vancouver Canucks are looking to buy out the remainder of veteran defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson‘s contract, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman has learned.
Ekman-Larsson has four years and $29 million remaining on an eight-year, $66 million contract he originally signed with the Arizona Coyotes in July 2018. He was traded in a blockbuster deal to Vancouver in July 2021 with Arizona retaining 12 per cent of his salary.
According to PuckPedia, the buyout will allow the Canucks to save $7.1 million against the cap this upcoming season. However, it will now keep a portion of the contract for the next eight seasons.
The 31-year-old from Karlskrona, Sweden, had 22 points last season, his lowest total since his rookie year, and was a minus-22 over 54 games.
Ekman-Larsson was drafted in the first round, sixth overall, by the Coyotes in 2009 and has 439 points (135 goals and 304 assists) over 13 seasons in Arizona and Vancouver.
