The Arizona Coyotes traded captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson and forward Conor Garland to the Vancouver Canucks on Friday in exchange for three players and the No. 9 overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, multiple media outlets reported.
Vancouver will send center Jay Beagle and wingers Loui Eriksson and Antoine Roussel as well as its first-round pick to Arizona, according to the reports.
Ekman-Larsson, a high-scoring, 30-year-old defenseman, has six seasons left on his contract at an average annual value of $8.25 million per year. He was the Coyotes’ first-round draft pick in 2009 (sixth overall) and spent all 11 seasons of his NHL career with the club.
In that time, he has registered 388 points (128 goals, 260 assists) over 769 games. In 46 games last season, Ekman-Larsson had just three goals and 21 assists.
Garland, 25, heads to Vancouver after playing his first three NHL seasons with Arizona. He has totaled 96 points (47 goals, 49 assists) in 164 games.
In exchange for those pieces, the Coyotes took on some veterans but cleared cap room to build for the future. They entered Friday without a first-round draft pick, which they had to forfeit after the NHL determined the team had violated rules concerning pre-draft scouting in 2019.
The Coyotes received the No. 11 pick during the draft lottery, which the league then marked down as “forfeited.” Now, they will have their pick of the best prospects remaining at No. 9.
Eriksson, 36, has 15 years in the NHL, and Beagle, who will turn 36 before the season, has played for 13 years.
Related: NHL trade rumors – Latest buzz for 2022 trade deadline day
–Field Level Media