Oliver Ekman-Larsson was bought out of his megadeal with big money.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson got mono from Vancouver. AOP / USA TODAY SPORTS
Vancouver Canucks immediately bought the Swedish defenseman by Oliver Ekman-Larsson out of the contract when the NHL’s buyout window opened on Friday.
Ekman-Larsson flopped badly in Vancouver, especially considering his salary level, as he played for a season salary of $8.25 million. The contract would have continued for another four seasons.
The 31-year-old defender scored 22 points and only two goals in 54 games last season. At his best, he was a 55-point defenseman in the NHL seven years ago.
Ekman-Larsson’s firing will be expensive for Vancouver. The club pays him a salary website CapFriendly including a total of just over $19.3 million over the next eight years for not playing with the team.
The buyout will burden Vancouver’s salary cap until 2031. In the years 2025–27, the burden is almost five million dollars per season, and in the years 2027–31, a good two million.
The buyout also puts a strain on Ekman-Larsson’s former club Arizona’s salary cap, as it withheld part of the Swede’s salary.
Ekman-Larsson was traded from Arizona to Vancouver in the summer of 2021. He signed his giant contract with Arizona in 2018.