After spending two seasons and 133 games with the Vancouver Canucks, Oliver Ekman-Larsson was caught off guard by his buyout in the off-season.
"I was surprised," the veteran defenceman told The Athletic's Thomas Drance on Friday. "We had exit meetings, and I didn’t see it coming."
After signing a one-year, $2.25 million deal with the Florida Panthers on July 1, Ekman-Larsson has looked like he's in for a bounce-back season. The blueliner has two points and one goal in the team's first four games and has averaged 25:31 minutes of ice time per night with his new club.
The Canucks bought out the final four seasons of the 31-year-old's eight-year contract that he signed as a member of the Arizona Coyotes. The deal carried an $8.25-million cap hit and, per Drance, became the largest total value compliance buyout in the history of the NHL salary cap system.
"Look, we loved living in Vancouver, and I loved playing for the Canucks," Ekman-Larsson said. "So it was disappointing. Obviously, there were a couple of tough years, but I don’t feel like it was all bad like everybody else does."
While battling injuries as a member of the Canucks, the former sixth-overall pick skated to seven goals and 51 points. He missed the last two months of the 2022-23 season after fracturing his foot for the second time in 12 months.
He spent the first 11 seasons of his career with the Arizona Coyotes, where he emerged as one of the top offensive defencemen in hockey, putting up 128 goals in 769 games and earning Norris Trophy votes on five separate occasions.
"There were ups and downs and we didn’t make the playoffs, we were struggling as a team, there were a lot of changes," he said. "It wasn’t easy, but I don’t have a bad thing to say about the city of Vancouver or the organization. It’s just part of the business. You get disappointed when things like that happen, and you’re not ready for it."
As the Canucks and Panthers prepare to square off Saturday for the first time since Ekman-Larsson's departure, the Karlskrona, Sweden native still wishes nothing but the best for his former team and commented on why Vancouver might be a team on the rise.
"You look at Petey, though, and he’s been growing a lot on and off the ice. Quinn [Hughes] is the same way. [J.T.] Miller is a great player, he’s putting up points and battling. There’s a lot of talent, but I think it takes time to build that culture," Ekman-Larsson said.
"It’s weird to play against your old teammates,” he continued. “It’s going to be an easy game to get up for, and it’s going to be fun to battle. I’ve been battling with those guys in practices for two years. There’s been some tough battles, and you build chemistry. I still talk to a few of them, and I’m excited to see all of them."
You can watch Saturday's game from Sunrise, Fla. on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ starting at 7 p.m. ET/ 4 p.m. PT.
