The Vancouver Canucks bought out the remaining four years of defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s contract on Friday.
The move was first brought to light by Sportsnet, and Ekman-Larsson’s agent confirmed it to The Athletic.
Ekman-Larsson, who turns 32 in July, will be an unrestricted free agent.
The Canucks acquired Ekman-Larsson in a blockbuster trade with the Arizona Coyotes before the 2021-22 season. The Coyotes’ captain at the time had to waive his no-trade clause to agree to the move.
But after two seasons in Vancouver, Ekman-Larsson had tallied just 51 points (seven goals, 44 assists) for his new team. In 2022-23 he had two goals and 20 assists while playing to a minus-24 rating over 54 games.
Ekman-Larsson suffered a broken foot playing for his native Sweden at the world championships. He tried to push through it but his performance suffered, and a sprained ankle suffered Feb. 15 prematurely ended his season.
A two-time All-Star, Ekman-Larsson has 439 points (135 goals, 304 assists) over 902 career games with the Coyotes (2010-21) and Canucks (2021-23). He was the sixth overall pick of the 2009 draft.
–Field Level Media