Risky Maple Leafs Off-Season Move Quickly Backfiring: The Team Has Made a Mistake With Oliver Ekman-Larsson
After nearly two months into the regular season, Leafs defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson just isn't playing up to the hype, and it looks like he was a mistake.
The Toronto Maple Leafs signed Oliver Ekman-Larsson as an unrestricted free agent this summer, and the move was immediately criticized by many.
Handing $14 million over four years to a 33-year-old defenseman who has already shown signs of decline was a questionable choice.
Once a Norris Trophy contender on a struggling team, Ekman-Larsson's play fell off dramatically in Vancouver, to the point where the Canucks, who kept Tyler Myers, bought him out.
A brief resurgence in Florida, where he had success in a limited role akin to what Mark Giordano pulled with the Leafs last season, didn't justify such a deal.
Brad Treliving gave him one of the most headscratch-inducing contracts in the NHL. Ekman-Larsson had a strong first five games.
The numbers were pretty good: 57% puck possession, 60% of the shots, and a respectable 53% expected goals rating while contributing to a 6-3 scoring advantage.
Reality set in. In the following 19 games, the numbers bottomed out: 46% puck possession, 45% of the shots, and a 47% expected goals rating. The Leafs have been outscored 13-11 in his minutes, with increased dangerous chances against.
If there was one nadir point, a point at which it was definitively clear that he cannot handle a top-four role on a competitive team, it was Monday's game against Chicago.
At this point in his career, Ekman-Larsson is a borderline NHL player, and he's probably untradable via contract.
Barring that being the case, a huge long shot, Treliving has to find a way to move him to a place where his money will stop being a killer on a team that will try for the Stanley Cup.
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| POLL | ||
DÉCEMBRE 4 | 75 ANSWERS Risky Maple Leafs Off-Season Move Quickly Backfiring: The Team Has Made a Mistake With Oliver Ekman-Larsson Was signing Oliver Ekman-Larrson a mistake? | ||
| Yes | 35 | 46.7 % |
| No | 40 | 53.3 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
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YESTERDAY
MAY 29, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Taylor Hall | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Logan Stankoven | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Jackson Blake | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Seth Jarvis | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Cole Caufield | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Shayne Gostisbehere | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Eric Robinson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Sebastian Aho | - | 1 | 1 | |
| William Carrier | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nikolaj Ehlers | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Lane Hutson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Alexander Nikishin | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Andrei Svechnikov | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Frederik Andersen | - | - | - | |
| Josh Anderson | - | - | - | |
| Zachary Bolduc | - | - | - | |
| Alexandre Carrier | - | - | - | |
| Jalen Chatfield | - | - | - | |
| Kirby Dach | - | - | - | |
| Phillip Danault | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||