Confirmed with Link: Leafs sign D Oliver Ekman-Larsson (4 years, $3.5M AAV)

[Tak7]

This is objectively false- he literally spent more 5v5 minutes with one of Forsling/Montour than he did Kulikov through the regular season. Half the season spent top or mid pairing on a 110 point team, and his overall (overall, not just bottom pair) results were great.

Yes the Panthers had the luxury of playing him mostly bottom pair in the playoffs- their big guns didn't get hurt. But his results higher in their lineup suggest that they would have been fine playing him higher if need be.

Averaged 15:26 a night in the playoffs - that's bottom pairing minutes.

In the playoffs, he spent 228:28 with Kulikov. Just 44:22 with Montour.

 

[4thline]

Averaged 15:26 a night in the playoffs - that's bottom pairing minutes.

In the playoffs, he spent 228:28 with Kulikov. Just 44:22 with Montour.

As I said- they were healthy and didn't need him higher.

But when they did in the regular season- which they did a lot- he more than handled those heavier minutes.

 

[Tak7]

As I said- they were healthy and didn't need him higher.

But when they did in the regular season- which they did a lot- he more than handled those heavier minutes.

I couldn't give a shit about regular season at this stage.

Playoff hockey is different. The pathway to get the best out of OEL has already been laid out by Maurice, and it's one that the Leafs can't really follow at the moment.

 

[4thline]

I couldn't give a shit about regular season at this stage.

Playoff hockey is different. The pathway to get the best out of OEL has already been laid out by Maurice, and it's one that the Leafs can't really follow at the moment.

A path. Not the path.
Not wanting to break up a match made in heaven in Mikkola-Montour or push either Forsling/Ekblad to the bottom pair is not the same as writing in stone that a guy that spent 490 regular season 5v5 minutes in your top 4 couldn't also do it in the playoffs if need be.

 

[Sypher04]

A path. Not the path.
Not wanting to break up a match made in heaven in Mikkola-Montour or push either Forsling/Ekblad to the bottom pair is not the same as writing in stone that a guy that spent 490 regular season 5v5 minutes in your top 4 couldn't also do it in the playoffs if need be.

He just wants to be outraged at the signing. You won’t convince him otherwise.

 

[4thline]

He just wants to be outraged at the signing. You won’t convince him otherwise.

Personally I don't love the term- would be much happier at 2 or even 3 years.

But I have no qualms about an OEL-McCabe 2nd pair this year, especially if some growth in Benoit-Liljegren takes some weight off them

 

[Tak7]

A path. Not the path.
Not wanting to break up a match made in heaven in Mikkola-Montour or push either Forsling/Ekblad to the bottom pair is not the same as writing in stone that a guy that spent 490 regular season 5v5 minutes in your top 4 couldn't also do it in the playoffs if need be.

If you want to go down that road:

He spend 465 minutes this season playing with Kulikov, by far his most common D partner.

Next on that list was Forsling, at 384:16 minutes, many of which were early in the season when there were injuries. Notably, Forsling performed better away from OEL.

 

[4thline]

If you want to go down that road:

He spend 465 minutes this season playing with Kulikov, by far his most common D partner.

Next on that list was Forsling, at 384:16 minutes, many of which were early in the season when there were injuries. Notably, Forsling performed better away from OEL.

If by "go down that road" you mean "rehash information posted last page but try and spin it as a negative"....

No shit, Forsling performed better with Aaron freaking Ekblad instead of OEL as his partner. Forsling-Ekblad is of course a better pairing. But OEL-Forsling worked fine as a top pair. The Panthers were 10-5-1 when Ekblad came back.


He showed as a 4-5 last year, spending a lot of successful time in the top 4 when needed, leading a dominant bottom pair when not. Kulikov was the clear 6.

 

[Tak7]

If by "go down that road" you mean "rehash information posted last page but try and spin it as a negative"....

No shit, Forsling performed better with Aaron freaking Ekblad instead of OEL as his partner. Forsling-Ekblad is of course a better pairing. But OEL-Forsling worked fine as a top pair. The Panthers were 10-5-1 when Ekblad came back.


He showed as a 4-5 last year, spending a lot of successful time in the top 4 when needed, leading a dominant bottom pair when not. Kulikov was the clear 6.

Cool - great signing, and absolutely nothing to worry about then

He should fit perfectly into our top 4, with 0 issues, and the powerplay will be fixed.

 

[Da Mash]

I hope OEL is a solid number 3-4, Benoit has to improve his hockey IQ and pass to be a solid 3-4
Not sure if Lilly will ever take the step to be a solid 3-4. Maybe having OEL will help Lilly.

We have 3 guys ....Reilly , Tanev and McCabe ....the rest are a big question mark even OEL with his playoff experience....his previous stays he was just not good IMHO

 

[4thline]

Cool - great signing, and absolutely nothing to worry about then

He should fit perfectly into our top 4, with 0 issues, and the powerplay will be fixed.

A more mature response would be:

"Thanks for the information, I didn't really do my research before coming to a conclusion. Given his role in Florida as a 4-5 he seems like a reasonable gamble @3.5- let's just hope he clicks with someone and the term doesn't come back to bite us."

 

[SprDaVE]

Even if he doesn't play above his typical quality of the last few years, he's still a capable and solid bottom pairing skating defenseman to give you some offence at a good clip. He wouldn't be great value but certainly not an anchor.

The bet and hope is that he can keep trending upwards in terms of being a quality mid-pair defender.

 

[Maple Leaf]

Is this a good deal or not
I dont know this man

 

[Daisy Jane]

We sure do - multiple reports said the Leafs were keen on Roy, and Mirtle said the Leafs were very, very close to getting it done. Pivoted to OEL after Roy signed with the Capitals, suggesting they were in it until the end.

How could they be very very close to getting it done, if Roy flat out stated he didn't want to play in Canada?

 

[thewave]

Is this a good deal or not
I dont know this man

Its a great deal if he spends the summer in China getting stem cell treatments and follows that guys anti aging diet.

 

[Maple Leaf]

Its a great deal if he spends the summer in China getting stem cell treatments and follows that guys anti aging diet.

This really inspires confidence. Thank you.

 

[Ianturnedbull]

The only time in recent history have I've this board go ape shit on July 1st was the Tavares signing. People were celebrating the Pre-Stanley Cup that day. They were absolutely high on John Tavares wine.

People that are losing their minds about OEL; were you there on July 1st 2015? You might be shocked when you see Hunwick, Parenteau, Winnik, Arcobello, and Matthias all signed with TOR. Talk about outrage.

Treliving has pro scouts advising him that OEL can improve the PP and the defensive depth. How wild is that assertion?

We don't know how good OEL will be in 4 years, but I welcome him. I think he'll play pretty good this season.

 

[phillipmike]

I am really intrigued to see how this works out.

Based on his Klingberg signing, Tre puts a lot of value on offensive defensemen and that got reinforced with the acquisition of OEL. Something I believe this team dearly missed. Klingberg didn’t work out, so he is trying again.

Some people get frustrated by the core coming back and ask “what’s different?” Well it may not show on the ice but having a new perspective from a new GM, coach and even CEO is big. Eventually we will see that trickle down to the ice. And we have so far with the signing of OEL.

The playoff power play was atrocious and believe it or not, OEL can make a huge difference.

In his prime, OEL was averaging 4-5 PP minutes a night on Arizona. In his last few years those numbers went down to 3 minutes to the high 2s in his last 2 seasons with the Coyotes were his offensive numbers trailed off. Then played 1:45 PP minutes (7th on the team) and 1:33 PP minutes (10th) with the Canucks. And they wonder why his play declined?

He finally got on a good team in Florida and put up 9 goals and 32 points with a more physical game. If he brings that to the Leafs, it will be a good signing.

If he gets PP1 time with the Leafs he can hit 10+ goals and that isn’t insignificant. The last Leafs D not named Morgan Rielly to have 10+ goals was Jake Gardiner in 2013-14.

Since the lockout, Leafs D with 10+ goals and the number of times they did it;
McCabe (4)
Rielly (2)
Phaneuf (2)
Kubina (2)
Gardiner (1)
Kaberle (1)
White (1)

OEL did it 7 times in 8 years. OEL AVERAGED 10 goals in his prime with Arizona.

Adding a player with a legit point shot on the PP can be huge. It isn’t insignificant on a team who’s scoring dries up around the playoffs.

Hoping his defensive play is similar to his time in Florida. It’s the big question mark but you can’t deny the offense, something this team hasn’t consistently had for 5+ years and when they did, their forwards weren’t this good.

Don’t forget Tre was the AGM in Phoenix when OEL drafted. At the team Shane Doan was the captain. After Doan, OEL was named captain. Tre and Doan are now in the Leafs front office.

This signing and this player is something “different” that can pay huge dividends on the PP.

 

[seanlinden]

I couldn't give a shit about regular season at this stage.

Playoff hockey is different. The pathway to get the best out of OEL has already been laid out by Maurice, and it's one that the Leafs can't really follow at the moment.

To be fair... the Leafs don't neccessarily "need" him to be a "top 4" defenceman.

The reality of how the Leafs are structured, is that they've got what should be a very good #1 pair with Rielly-Tanev, but not one that's likely going to take on 25+ minutes a night.

They then have 3 defenceman that are all "borderline" top 4, which should make for 2 solid pairings.

To be honest, I'm far from the world's biggest fan of the signing, but it became quite clear that the second defenceman the Leafs really needed (a bonafide #2 to lead a 2nd pairing, much like the Panthers had Ekblad & Montour separated) was not really available to them.

 

[Tak7]

How could they be very very close to getting it done, if Roy flat out stated he didn't want to play in Canada?

I haven't seen this anywhere.

And it sounds like they were very close - give Mirtle a listen to, he breaks it down really well.

 

[CapspaceKiller]

Risky move, he's all and all a has-been who found a good, yet sheltered role as a puck moving bottom pair defenceman. Even the majority of Panthers fans state he did well in the role.

Brad then gave him 3.5m per and is expecting more? Its risky, its not Klingberg bad, because well.. Klingberg sucked for 4 years before he signed here. OEL is a mixed bag.

So he's playing with McCabe on the 2nd pair? Risky. My guess is he'll look really good some nights and really bad on others. The leafs sound like they are going to over-extend him.

Paying OEL 3.5m and Lilly 3.0m is terrible cap management. One is a bottom pairing defenceman and the other one hasn't even proved he's capable of being a regular NHLer.

 

[Stephen]

54 weeks ago, OEL was involved in one of the league's most expensive ever buyouts due to being a gas can in Vancouver.

Only really stabilized things in a defensive-heavy system in Florida playing bottom pair minutes with a really solid partner.

The Leafs blueline, and overall team defense, is considerably weaker than Floridas.

I'm not a fan of this contract at all - you could have packaged the OEL money with the Hakanpaa money and taken a run at a $5.5M Pesce.

Really seems like the Leafs were over-seduced by his offensive potential on the powerplay.

I dunno how this OEL signing will work out but on the Florida piece, the Panthers went into last season with Montour and Ekblad both injured and he stepped in playing massive minutes from the get go, only to be scaled back as time went on.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson 2023-24 Stats per Game - NHL - ESPN

The 2023-24 NHL season stats per game for Oliver Ekman-Larsson of the Toronto Maple Leafs on ESPN. Includes full stats, per opponent, for regular and postseason.

www.espn.com

 

[Brown Dog]

Just realized this is the Jeff Finger contact.

 

[Laus723]

I think you guys will like him up there. He fit in well to start the season as we dealt with injuries, didn’t look out of place on the PP (or look great on it if I’m being honest), and never made me wince when he was on the ice both regular season and playoffs.

He’s better as a bottom pairing guy imo, but can play larger roles when necessary. He can move the puck well, but should probably be paired with a defensive minded partner.

He has a surprising mean streak, nothing Gudas level, but I liked his snarl. Good luck with him.

 

[baton elevated]

OEL is the new Giordano. Just at a higher cost. One more year of JT and then the leafs can fix many problems. This is a write off year and not much can be expected from this lot.