Canucks Buyout Defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Vancouver, B.C. - Vancouver Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin announced today that the club has bought out defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

"We would like to thank Oliver for the time he spent in Vancouver," said Allvin. "The business of hockey is very complex and tough decisions have to be made if you want to remain competitive. Buying out Oliver gives us a lot more flexibility and cap space the next couple of years and significantly reduces his hit in the subsequent seasons. It is our expectation that following this year, the cap will also raise considerably making this the right time to execute this buyout. Our organization is committed to do whatever it needs to do to improve, get better on and off the ice, and move forward in a positive direction."

NHL teams are allowed to buyout a player's contract to obtain a reduced salary cap hit over a period of twice the remaining length of contract and in Ekman-Larsson's case, the overall remaining total of that spend is valued at two-thirds of his deal. With $29,000,000 salary remaining, the buyout spans eight years, at a cost of $19,333,333 and a savings of $9,666,667. If the club had retained Ekman-Larsson's services, he would have been paid at total of $18,500,000 over the next two years alone.

The 31-year-old Ekman-Larsson was acquired by the Canucks from the Arizona Coyotes two summers ago on July 23, 2021. That deal also saw Conor Garland moved to Vancouver in exchange for Jay Beagle, Loui Eriksson, Antoine Roussel, a 2021 first-round draft pick (Dylan Guenther), a 2022 second-round pick and a 2023 seventh-round pick. This transaction included the Coyotes retaining 12 percent of Ekman-Larsson's salary. As a result, the remaining costs and current cap hit are split between each team based on the percentage of salary retained by the respective clubs.

In two seasons with the Canucks, Ekman-Larsson appeared in 133 games, registering seven goals and 44 assists, for a total of 51 points. The 13-year NHL veteran finished his second and final season in Vancouver on injured reserve, missing the final 27 games of the year with an ankle injury.