Skate Pod: Does Oliver Ekman-Larsson make any sense for the Bruins?
Certain players seem destined to be linked to the Bruins over and over again. Usually those rumor mill stars never actually end up playing in Boston, but every now and then there’s a Taylor Hall situation where the rumors and reports eventually do turn into reality.
The latest Bruins target of the past to resurface in the present is defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. You may remember “OEL” from past hits like Summer 2021, when the Bruins were heavily linked to him in trade rumors. The Arizona Coyotes wanted to get out from under Ekman-Larsson’s massive contract, which carried a cap hit of $8.25 million through 2027, and the Bruins were searching for a two-way left-shot defenseman with size who could handle top-four minutes.
Reports at the time indicated that the Bruins were one of two teams Ekman-Larsson was willing to waive his no-trade clause for, with the other being the Vancouver Canucks.
In the end, Ekman-Larsson went to Vancouver, not Boston. It didn’t work out so well for the Canucks, who just bought out the final four years of Ekman-Larsson’s contract at the cost of millions of dollars in dead money against the cap through 2031.
So, Ekman-Larsson is now a free agent. And who’s one of the teams being linked to him? The Bruins, of course. League insiders Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek discussed the possibility on Monday’s “32 Thoughts” podcast.
“We've talked about various teams that have made plays for Oliver Ekman-Larsson in the past. The Boston Bruins have been on that list, were on that list previously,” Marek said.
“And he likes them,” Friedman noted.
“That’s one of the teams I wondered about right out of the gate here,” Marek added. “Listen, it’s not exactly a secret that the Boston Bruins are going to have to do some things here. If you can get an Oliver Ekman-Larsson on the cheap, maybe that affords you the luxury of being able to do something that you otherwise had some misgivings about. So, I do wonder about the Boston Bruins with Oliver Ekman-Larsson, whether that can finally come to some fruition.”
Now, it’s worth noting that neither Friedman nor Marek are explicitly reporting that the Bruins are interested in signing Ekman-Larsson. They’re speculating based on past mutual interest. But that last part from Marek is why this could make some sense: “The Bruins are going to have to do some things here.”
He’s referring to the Bruins’ salary cap situation. They have under $5 million in cap space. They have 11 free agents – three restricted, eight unrestricted. There is going to be turnover, and the Bruins are going to have to get creative to fill out a competitive roster. They’re going to have to do some bargain hunting.
Ekman-Larsson could be a bargain -- key word: COULD -- if he really wants to play for the Bruins and is willing to sign a cheap, one-year prove-it deal to do so.
For Ekman-Larsson, the plan makes some sense. There’s a reason he got bought out: Because he’s coming off a rough season, arguably his third rough season in the last four years. The Canucks, facing a cap squeeze of their own, could not justify continuing to pay him over $8 million a year, and were highly unlikely to find any sort of trade partner.
The combination of Ekman-Larsson’s struggles and cap squeezes all across the league with the cap expected to only go up by $1 million means he is unlikely to find a whole lot of money on the free-agent market. So, take a one-year deal, go somewhere he wants to go, hope to bounce back, and then try to find a better deal next summer when the cap is expected to go up more.
But does it make sense for the Bruins? Maybe. On the surface, the left side of the defense isn’t one of their biggest areas of need. With Hampus Lindholm, Matt Grzelcyk, Derek Forbort, Mike Reilly and Jakub Zboril all under contract, they have enough bodies. There’s no guarantee Ekman-Larsson would be any sort of meaningful upgrade.
But we know the Bruins are probably looking to move one or two of those contracts, specifically those belonging to Grzelcyk (one year, $3.69M), Forbort (one year, $3M) and/or Reilly (one year, $3M). So, while the Bruins have a surplus there now, they may not in a few weeks.
And Ekman-Larsson could be an upgrade if he does rediscover his game. Prime OEL, who was consistently a top-20 defenseman in the NHL, isn’t coming back, but it wasn’t that long ago that Ekman-Larsson showed there was still a good blue-liner in there.
In fact, it was just two years ago, during his first season in Vancouver. He still probably wasn’t worth his contract, but he did have a solid two-way season (see the peak in the middle of his analytics card below) and clearly made an overall positive impact.
If the Bruins got that Ekman-Larsson for cheap money (say, less than $2 million), then everyone would be thrilled. He brings more offense than Forbort and is bigger than Grzelcyk at 6-foot-2. That’s absolutely the kind of player who could look nice on Boston’s second or third pairing.
If you’re looking for some reason to believe that OEL could re-appear, health might be one. Ekman-Larsson broke his foot playing for Sweden in the World Championships last spring, and there’s some belief that he never quite fully recovered this past season. If he is healthier now and some of his speed returns, well, that would certainly help him try to bounce back.
Of course, it’s also possible that Ekman-Larsson isn’t interested in a one-year prove-it deal. If he just wants to go to the highest bidder, then it almost certainly won’t be Boston paying him.
And it’s possible that there is no bounce-back coming and that OEL really might just be toast at 32 years old. He would be no help to the Bruins no matter how cheap the contract in that case, and that’s a possibility they would have to consider.
But the Bruins might have to take a couple fliers this offseason, and Ekman-Larsson could be one that’s at least worth exploring.
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