Could the Canucks trade Oliver Ekman-Larsson this offseason?

The Vancouver Canucks brought in Oliver Ekman-Larsson along with Conor Garland in a draft-day trade with the Arizona Coyotes that was divisive among the fans.

The trade was made with the hope Garland and Ekman-Larsson can help the Canucks get back into the playoffs. Ten months later, it is another long offseason for them as the playoffs did not happen. This time around, Jim Benning is no longer with the club and Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin will do whatever they can to take the Canucks closer to contention status this offseason.

With them at the helm, they want to make the team better and create cap space. That means we could see a big exodus of players this offseason especially those with big contracts.

“I don’t think you just want great cap space, we want to get better too,” said Allvin to the media last week. 

Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman made his weekly appearance on CHEK TV’s Donnie and Dhali: The Team on Monday to talk about OEL and he made some intriguing comments about the possibility of the Canucks trading him.

“I think the Canucks are going to be a very aggressive team, in terms of what they’re willing to try and what they’re willing to think of,” said Friedman. “That’s always been Jim Rutherford’s M.O. I don’t believe it’s going to be different here. Obviously, they have internal business they have to take care of first with the likes of (Brock) Boeser, (Bo) Horvat and (J.T.) Miller. I think there is going to be a lot out there. I don’t know if the OEL thing is going to work. He’s got a lot of control over it and it’s a big contract but I do think the Canucks are trying to see if there’s anything they could potentially do there.”

OEL wasn’t bad in his first season in Vancouver.

He wasn’t putting up a lot of points, (five goals and 24 assists) but defensively he has been good for the most part. Ekman-Larsson’s analytical numbers were very bad in his final years in Arizona but they have improved with the Canucks.

Ekman-Larsson looked fine on the second pair and when Quinn Hughes was out of the lineup, looked good on the first power play unit.

OEL isn’t a bad player, it’s his contract that is bad. His contract runs out in 2027 and the Canucks are paying him 7.26 million per year. He is also turning 31 this year and players tend to decline over the age of 30.

The Canucks would have gotten a lot of cap space this summer with three big contracts (Loui Eriksson, Jay Beagle and Antoine Roussel) coming off the books but Benning decided to trade them, along with three draft picks (Including the ninth overall pick) for Garland and Ekman-Larsson and his massive contract.

It’s one of the worst contracts in the NHL and it is crippling the Canucks window from opening.

Who did the Coyotes draft with pick number nine? They took Dylan Guenther who had 91 points in 59 regular season games with the Edmonton Oil Kings this season. Would the Canucks have taken Guenther if they kept the pick? Maybe or maybe not. He would have been a great addition to the Canucks prospect pool.

Alright back to OEL. It’s will be a tough task to trade him but it is possible.

He has a no-move clause and as Friedman said, he has control over where he could go. Ekman-Larsson only wanted to go to Boston or Vancouver when the Coyotes were shopping him. If the Canucks really want to let him go, he has the chance to pick his possible destinations again.

However, it would be hard to find a team that is willing to take his contract. Yes, the Canucks definitely would have to retain salary. They also would need to throw in a sweetener like the Coyotes shipped off Garland with OEL in the trade last July. The Canucks would have to throw in draft picks (likely high ones) to get rid of OEL.

My thoughts? I think the Canucks will try to move him but they won’t be able to thanks to his contract. Bad contracts have been moved before but Ekman-Larsson’s will be tough. Plus, I’m not sure if he would want to leave after one season in Vancouver.

If they do move him, it would be huge for the future of the franchise but frankly, I don’t see it happening.