Salary Cap: Oliver Ekman-Larsson

[Billy Kvcmu]

Turned 30 last week
6 more years at 7m
Hasnt been elite for a couple years
Hoping he bounces back and still has a couple more productive years ?

Click to read more...

 

[vanarchy]

I hope the fans on here take their hate out on Benning and not the player.

 

[canucksfan]

Need some optimists, how can one expect him to bounce back because he has sucked for the last few years.

 

[UrbanImpact]

Will reserve my judgement until 10 games or so seeing him play.

Playing for Arizona, mothers death, lotsa factors could have been weighing on him the last few years.

Welcome to Van City OEL!

One thing for sure though, he is an awesome ambassador and community leader, this will be great for Canuck Place and other organizations we support!

 

[mriswith]

30 years old, declining for 3 straight seasons, who fits that profile and has come back from it? Oh and locked in for 6 more years

The pessimistic view is we just trashed the rest of Horvat's window.

The optimistic view is that it's actually a pretty buyout friendly deal all things considered!

 

[Billy Kvcmu]

Need some optimists, how can one expect him to bounce back because he has sucked for the last few years.

One can argue being in a dysfunctional org like the yotes affected his on ice performance
Though that’s really pushing it
The reality is likely that even if he bounces back he’s a #2 at best

honestly I wouldn’t mind him at 7m if we don’t already have Tyler Myers

 

[MS]

When the most optimistic takes are in the vein of 'he was probably just so bad in Arizona because he quit on the team there' that's probably not a good start.

I've found this player to be soft/lazy for years and after some knee injuries his skating isn't where it used to be either.

He's a decent transition defender. He's good on the PP - but is unlikely to play there much. Defensively he's a softer Tyler Myers. Lots of standing around, doesn't love contact.

TOI has declined 7 years in a row which must be some sort of record.

 

[Billy Kvcmu]

30 years old, declining for 3 straight seasons, who fits that profile and has come back from it? Oh and locked in for 6 more years

The pessimistic view is we just trashed the rest of Horvat's window.

The optimistic view is that it's actually a pretty buyout friendly deal all things considered!

Dustin Brown
I know it’s funny but he did bounce back

 

[Baby Pettersson]

Only hope I have is playing in Arizona he gave up. Which is honestly a realistic possibility. Hoping he bounces back.

 

[8999]

Last offseason, it was said that Benning's hope was that OEL would form a 1-2 puck-moving duo with Hughes similar to what Klingberg/Heiskanen were doing for DAL into the SCF at the time. Ideally, at least one of them would be on the ice for almost the whole game. He also saw OEL as a replacement for Edler.

Don't think it's that unrealistic. If it works out, it's a better deal than last offseason.

 

[BrilliantBroReferee]

FML!

People blaming his poor play on the Coyotes have no ideea what they are talking about. He was part of the problem. It's a sign of bad character if the team's captain does not care.

In the next few days we will see some disgusting shilling . It has already begun.

 

[Bankerguy]

Wow, for some reason, i 100% thought OEL plays the right side. One of those left-shot right side guys.
Is that not the case?

 

[Oliewud]

I asked the coyotes fans on their board if they thought OEL could rebound:

- tough to say man. If his play over the last 2 years is any indication then it’s not looking good. Players sometimes find their groove after being traded, however

- Board was 30/70 I guess on him being able to turn it around, I'm in the 30% camp. I think getting away from Tocchet and Housley will do wonders for him and having him not be captain I think will lift the load he's been carrying and we've been terrible albeit but 2 years since he's been playing, so if you guys can be competitive hopefully he will turn it around. He's been one of my favorite players for a long time, so I'm hoping he returns to form.

- My perception is that OEL is kind of a sensitive guy, and thrives when the relationships around him are strong and he has lots of support and encouragement. He has lost a step and his shot isn’t as good as it used to be because of some injuries, but if the relationship with his coach is good, he has no leadership responsibility to worry about from wearing a letter, and good support around him, I think he’ll do just fine. Maybe not back to being an all star, but acceptable, consistent top 4 play

- That's because he's impressive. I think there is an excellent chance he gets closer to his former self. The coach did not like him and the feeling was mutual.

- Yes! Very good chance OEL rebounds!

 

[Pengu]

OEL is still a 40-45 pt d

 

[Bankerguy]

OEL Schmidt
Hughes Myers
Rathbone Hamonic

I wonder if this is what they'll start with

 

[BrilliantBroReferee]

OEL is still a 40-45 pt d

Not on a team with Hughes on the PP.

 

[MS]

OEL is still a 40-45 pt d

60% of his production last year came on the PP and there's no way he's playing there as a Canuck over Hughes.

If he touches 30 points in the minutes he'll get as a Canuck, that would be a hell of an accomplishment.

 

[GetFocht]

OEL is still a 40-45 pt d

yep, his 'down year' still had him on a 40 point pace.

He's a legit scoring defenceman, put up two 20 goal campaigns as a defenceman and multiple 10+ goal seasons.

 

[Ita]

This is basically another Benning special, except it's 7 x 6 instead of 6x6,

 

[Pip]

Love that the prefix is salary cap instead of player discussion

 

[Bojack Horvatman]

60% of his production last year came on the PP and there's no way he's playing there as a Canuck over Hughes.

If he touches 30 points in the minutes he'll get as a Canuck, that would be a hell of an accomplishment.

His even strength production over his career is not that great and getting worse. He averages about 1 pt more a year at ES more than Tyler Myers. It seems to be getting worse as well. Only 10 last year and averaged 22.9 per 82 the last 3 years. This is a player that had value because he could put up 20 points on the powerplay every year. He won't get that powerplay time here.

If he was at least an average-good defender. I wouldn't care so much about his production. But he's not. He's a 30 yo offensive dmen with underwhelming stats compared to what he is being paid.

 

[David71]

60% of his production last year came on the PP and there's no way he's playing there as a Canuck over Hughes.

If he touches 30 points in the minutes he'll get as a Canuck, that would be a hell of an accomplishment.

2nd unit? alongside rathbone? or schmidt

 

[Tryamkin]

OEL Schmidt
Hughes Myers
Rathbone Hamonic

I wonder if this is what they'll start with

We literally MUST trade Schmidt to sign Petey and Hughes. Don't think Hamonic asks for a reasonable enough number to keep him either.

 

[Love]

I just wonder who plays the tough minutes for us. Who kills penalties? Who takes the D zone matchup ice time? We have Hughes, Rathbone, Schmidt, and OEL who are all PP puck moving types. Makes me think that Schmidt is still on his way out, idk. Still think the D needs some tweaking.

Anyway I obviously hope he finds new life here. As it stands this is a very risky acquisition.

 

[LaVal]

OEL is still a 40-45 pt d

So was Nate Schmidt before coming to Vancouver. Hard to put up points when the team only scores on the powerplay and Hughes plays 1:57 of every powerplay as the lone defensemen.