It was an emotional return for Oliver Ekman-Larsson. The Arizona Coyotes honored their former captain with a video tribute during the first period of their game against the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday.
The Coyotes traded Ekman-Larsson, a defenseman, and forward Conor Garland to the Canucks forwards Antoine Roussel, Jay Beagle, Loui Eriksson and the No. 9 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, plus a second-round pick in 2022 and a seventh-round pick in 2023, on July 23, 2021.
For everything you did on and off the ice. For being an incredible person, teammate and captain.
Ekman-Larsson played for Arizona for 11 seasons and was one of four team captains in team history. He had 128 goals and 260 assists in 769 Coyotes games. After watching the tribute, Ekman-Larsson waved to the crowd several times and patted his heart.
"It's a good feeling to come back, but at the same time, it's somewhat weird being on the other side of things," Ekman-Larsson said before the game. "I was talking to some of the guys, and it was probably 12 years since I first went in that room (Coyotes dressing room) … so a lot of memories from my time here. I couldn't be more thankful for what this organization did for me and just to be able to be be back. It's a great feeling, but it's also some mixed feelings.
“It’s a good feeling to come back but at the same time it’s a little bit weird being on the other side of things. A lot of memories from my time here. I couldn’t be more thankful for what this organization did for me.”
"This will always be be my second home. I loved it when I was here and I still do, the fans were great and people were super nice to me. I can't say anything bad about this place, and it feels good to be back."
