[Discussion] OEL buyout thread

[RWJC]

Florida Panthers preseason game 1:

 

 

FLORIDA PANTHERS

Preseason No. 1: Florida Panthers 5, Nashville Predators 0

 

SUNRISE — When asked when his team would start working on the power play, Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice said prior to Wednesday’s preseason game at Carolina.

No rush.

 

On Monday, the Panthers scored on their first two power play chances of the preseason off goals from William Lockwood and Eetu Luostarinen en route to a 5-0 win over the Nashville Predators in the opener of a day-night preseason doubleheader at the Arena.

Florida and Nashville will play a second game on Monday with the start time scheduled for 6 p.m.

Luostarinen ended up scoring a second power play goal on a 5-on-3 look late in the second to give the Panthers a three-goal cushion.

Rookie Mackie Samoskevich helped his bid to make the team by scoring early in the second and then, again, toward the end.

All told, the Panthers scored four of their five goals with the man-advantage as Nashville was hit with 10 penalties in the preseason opener.

 

Florida was charged with five penalties — including a roughing from Anton Lundell when he punched Kevin Gravel square in the face.

Maurice and the Panthers are certainly going to change things up on their special teams as the preseason rolls on, but at least on Monday, one can see how things could look once things start counting for real.

 

It was the second group which opened the scoring as former Bruins defenseman Mike Reilly teed off from the point with Lockwood deflecting it from in front.

As Maurice said last week, Oliver Ekman-Larsson ran this top power play unit (Sasha Barkov was with this group) with Gus Forsling running the second.

 

Ekman-Larsson ended up with three assists.

Regardless, Florida made it 2-0 moments after Lockwood’s goal when Luostarinen charged in and beat Nashville goalie Kevin Lankinen.

Spencer Knight was in net for the Panthers for the first time since leaving the team in February and was solid, going 29:15 and making 13 saves before giving way to Ludovic Waeber holding a 2-0 lead.

 

Waeber got himself a little run support when Luostarinen knocked in a rebound off a Barkov shot seconds into Nashville’s second penalty of the sequence.

 

GR’S 3 STARS OF GAME 1

1. Eetu Luostarinen, Florida (2 goals)

2. Mackie Samoskevich, Florida (2 goals, assist)

3. Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Florida (3 assists)

 

George Richards

https://floridahockeynow.com/preseason-no-1-florida-panthers-5-nashville-predators-0/

 

 

 

 

Edited September 26, 2023 by RWJC

[Elias Pettersson]

With Hronek in the lineup there was no room for a $7 million Dman on the 3rd pairing.  Especially considering we still have Myers on the books.  I like Soucy as the bottom pairing guy moving forward and getting a legit top 4 Dman for Hronek.  Hopefully Willander is the guy that plays with Hughes in the future.  

[Gawdzukes]

 

We're buying out Larsson. Crazy! lol 

[RWJC]

Oliver Ekman-Larsson has chance to rejuvenate career with Florida Panthers 

 

A veteran of over 900 games in the NHL, Ekman-Larsson is excited about joining the successful Panthers

 

ARMANDO VELEZ

SEP 23, 2023 5:00 PM EDT

 

Once the Florida Panthers were eliminated in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on June 13, it was revealed that two key players on the Panthers blue line were going to miss significant time to start the 2023-24 season. 

 

Defensemen Brandon Montour and Aaron Ekblad suffered major injuries during the Panthers playoff run: Montour with an injury to his shoulder, and Ekblad with fractured foot and a shoulder injury as well.

 

Panthers General Manager Bill Zito during media day said that the timeline for those two to return to the lineup is somewhere around the December 15th range. Maybe earlier, maybe later. Nobody knows. 

 

Florida captain Aleksander Barkov was asked about how much he would have to step up leadership wise knowing that Montour and Ekblad are going to miss significant time during the season. 

 

“[I’m not] 100% sure what their timetable is right now with their injuries. I know they're skating and love to see that after what they've been through last year,” said Barkov. “Of course, missing those two guys, it will be huge for us, but at the same time, it's a great opportunity for everyone else to step up and play.”

 

One of the many guys who is going to be counted on is newly acquired defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who was picked sixth overall by the then Phoenix Coyotes at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft out of Sweden. 

 

Ekman-Larsson spent his draft plus one season in Sweden playing for Leksands IF, where he was an alternate captain. He also played in a World Junior Championship and World Championship, representing Sweden.

 

His only playoff appearance came in a full season 82-game season came in 2012, which was also his first full season. 

The Phoenix Coyotes made it to the Western Conference Final, where they lost to the eventual Stanley Cup Champions, the Los Angeles Kings. 

 

The now-Arizona Coyotes made it to the first round of the postseason in 2020 after getting through the Stanley Cup Qualifiers in the Edmonton bubble as the 11th seed, defeating the sixth seeded Nashville Predators three games to one. Arizona would end up losing to the Colorado Avalanche in five games in the first round.

 

That’s it, that is the only taste of the postseason Ekman-Larsson has had, and not all is his fault. There has been a lot of turmoil in Arizona about whether the team is going to remain there or not. There was an identity crisis with the team being called the Phoenix Coyotes, but playing in Glendale at the time, with the uncertainty about where in Arizona they will end up playing, the change to Arizona Coyotes was necessary. 

 

Ekman-Larsson spent his final three seasons in Arizona as the captain of the team prior to his trade to the Vancouver Canucks.

 

In Vancouver, there was a bit of uncertainty as well, with the firing of general manager Jim Benning and head coach Travis Green.

The Canucks brought in Jim Rutherford from the Pittsburgh Penguins organization as the President of Hockey Operations and Patrick Allvin, who followed Rutherford from Pittsburgh to Vancouver, as general manager. 

 

It was not just uncertainty with the front office, but with the coaching staff as well. Once Green was fired after an 8-15-2 record to start the 2021-22 season, in came Bruce Boudreau.

 

Vancouver, in the final 57 games of the season, finished 32-15-10, which in an 82-game season pace, is a 106-point pace. A lot had Vancouver as a team who could possibly get back to the postseason in 2022-23. 

 

Through 46 games under Boudreau, the Canucks had 39 points with a 18-25-3 record. There were also rumors circulating that Rutherford and Allvin were already looking for Boudreau’s replacement, which ended up being true when he was replaced by Rick Tocchet on January 22nd of 2023.

 

The bright side about Ekman-Larsson’s time with the Coyotes was that in ten years, he only played for two coaches, Tocchet and Dave Tippett. Tocchet and Ekman-Larsson would meet again in Vancouver. 

 

All of those factors make it difficult for any player, and some might take it personally. Not Ekman-Larsson. 

When asked about the disappointment the last few seasons, Ekman-Larsson did not put blame it on any external factors.

 

“It's always hard when you when you struggle as a team,” he said. “You cannot take that personally. I've always been a guy that I look myself in the mirror first and see what I need to do, and what I need to do better to help the team. It's not really about me at all, it's about winning. That's why I'm feeling super excited about this team. They went through (a lot) last year and learned along the way, and hopefully you can build on that.”

 

Montour set the Panthers single season record for points by a defenseman with 73 (16 goals and 57 assists), breaking Keith Yandle’s previous record.

 

Although points-wise, Ekman-Larsson’s best season came in 2016 where he had 55 points (21 goals, 34 assists), he is most known for contributing offensively, whether it is jumping up in the rush or quarterbacking a power play. 

 

There is a possibility for the Panthers to make up those points with Montour and Ekblad gone with Ekman-Larsson’s presence in the lineup, even at 32 years old. 

It’s still yet to be seen whether Ekman-Larsson or defenseman Gustav Forsling will get the chance to quarterback Florida’s top power play to start the year, but they have been seen paired together at the start of training camp.

 

Following a recent training camp practice, Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice said the team wouldn’t be getting into power play work until next week, but added when that time comes, Ekman-Larsson would get a crack at it. 

 

“I would say that Oliver Ekman-Larsson is elite in this league at getting the puck to the net,” Maurice said. “That’s probably the first place we’ll put him. It’s part of the reason we signed him.”

 

Maurice also pointed to Ekman-Larsson’s ability to retrieve the puck off the boards, walk it to the middle of the ice and get it on net. 

It sure sounds like Ekman-Larsson will get every chance to work to his perceived strengths. 

 

The Panthers as a franchise have been one of the most stable over the last few seasons, winning a Presidents’ Trophy in the 2021-22 season and making it to the Stanley Cup Final in 2023.

 

It’s a place for players to rejuvenate their careers, and Ekman-Larsson just wants to win. 

During his free agency call with Zito, he wanted to be sold on the team, not the area. 

Although Ekman-Larsson is not known for his defense, we could see a big step in his game knowing that there is some stability in South Florida with the Panthers blueliners and having two-time Vezina Trophy winner between the pipes in Sergei Bobrovsky. 

 

Ekman-Larsson said that he is not mailing it in just because he is going to get more minutes with Montour and Ekblad out; he wants them back for the sake of this team being at full strength. The number one goal for him at 32 years old is winning, not personal accomplishments or padding up the statistics. 

Panthers players are excited about the addition of Ekman-Larsson, including one player who played against him multiple times during his days in Calgary, forward Sam Bennett.

 

When asked what Ekman-Larsson can bring to the table, Bennett responded saying, “[Ekman-Larsson’s] a really experienced [defenseman] that's been in this league for a while and has done some great things. He's going to bring that steady composure as a [defenseman] and he's going to be good to some of the young guys who we got. I think he'll be a big, big piece for us.”

An experienced veteran presence in the Panthers locker room is what the group felt was necessary when bringing in Ekman-Larsson, especially when trying to get back to the postseason. 

 

Ekman-Larsson’s ups and downs in his career led him to Florida after being bought out by the Canucks over the summer. 

With signing a one-year, $2,250,000 contract this summer with the Panthers (although he is still getting paid by Vancouver and Arizona), this provides the perfect opportunity for Ekman-Larsson to rejuvenate his hockey career under the guidance of Maurice. 

 

 

 

https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/features/oliver-ekman-larsson-has-chance-to-rejuvenate-career-with-florida-panthers-

 

 

 

[Miss Korea]

He had a pretty solid first preseason game today.  We'll see how he fits into that system in Florida.  I bet he'll do okay.

[canuck73_3]

1 hour ago, Miss Korea said:

He had a pretty solid first preseason game today.  We'll see how he fits into that system in Florida.  I bet he'll do okay.

Wasn’t a fit on our roster but gonna prove a lot of people wrong this year I think. 

[timberz21]

LOL it's the first game of the pre-season who frigging care.

 

“No doubt about it. That was definitely extra, extra special. That’s the team that basically told me I couldn’t play anymore.”

 

Those words were spoken by Troy Tulowitzky after hitting a HR in his first pre-season at-bat against the Jays.   He was released by the Blue Jays and signed with the Yankees.  He ended only playing 5 games for the Yankees and retired in July of the same years.

 

Things change quickly.  OEL will be nothing more than a bottom pairing guy.  The only difference with Florida is that he's actually paid the right amount to play there.  Just a matter of time until he's a liability again.

[MeanSeanBean]

We'll see if he can keep it up, I doubt it personally. That being said, I didn't think a buyout was the right option. The OEL/Garland trade was one of the worst moves, if not the single worst move of the Benning era. But I felt the right course of action was to just deal with it and try to make the best out of OEL.

[PhillipBlunt]

If OEL keeps this up past the preseason, then this thread may have some added relevance. The preseason doesn't mean a hell of a lot. 

[Jester13]

What bothered me about the buyout was he was injured last year, so we could've given him another season to see how he does, and apparently the buyout wouldn't have been as bad after this season. I digress. 

[SV.]

If he does miraculously keep things up well into the season, good for him.  Great for him, even.

The main issue here is that we should have never acquired him in the first place because there was no need for another LD making 7M+ with Hughes having already demonstrated he could play the top pair.  Not taking into consideration the clear evidence that he was declining at the time of his acquisition.
 

Whether he plays well or not, the fact remains the Canucks are stuck with a sizeable buyout for the next while.

[elvis15]

OEL, Meyers and even Bear the way he was playing (injured, I know, and I'd consider him for a cheap replacement if we can move Meyers) were too much combined for our defence to have much of a chance. The buyout helped us improve and we're better for it.

 

I like OEL, and even liked the trade knowing he wasn't the player he was a few years prior, but it didn't work out. Sometimes you have to recognize that and move on - regardless of what the player does after.

[PhillipBlunt]

4 minutes ago, elvis15 said:

OEL, Meyers and even Bear the way he was playing (injured, I know, and I'd consider him for a cheap replacement if we can move Meyers) were too much combined for our defence to have much of a chance. The buyout helped us improve and we're better for it.

 

I like OEL, and even liked the trade knowing he wasn't the player he was a few years prior, but it didn't work out. Sometimes you have to recognize that and move on - regardless of what the player does after.

Been a while, elvis15. 

[RWJC]

52 minutes ago, PhillipBlunt said:

If OEL keeps this up past the preseason, then this thread may have some added relevance. The preseason doesn't mean a hell of a lot. 

No offense Phillip but I’d argue it might just be relevant until the end of 2031.  (big sigh)

 

 

 

Edited September 26, 2023 by RWJC

[Blue]

Literally everyone predicted this. But its still outdid our cynicism with Lockwood , Forsling and OEL on the sheet

[Gawdzukes]

1 hour ago, MeanSeanBean said:

We'll see if he can keep it up, I doubt it personally. That being said, I didn't think a buyout was the right option. The OEL/Garland trade was one of the worst moves, if not the single worst move of the Benning era. But I felt the right course of action was to just deal with it and try to make the best out of OEL.

 

That was the worst move in Canucks history and top 5 overall in NHL history.

[Blue]

2 minutes ago, Gawdzukes said:

 

That was the worst move in Canucks history and top 5 overall in NHL history.

No it wasn't. Not even close. Top 10 bad trades involve elite players. This trade didn't. Not even top 20, sorry to burst your bubble. Chiarello did worse trades in Edmonton in the same period 

Edited September 26, 2023 by Blue

[Gawdzukes]

42 minutes ago, SV. said:

If he does miraculously keep things up well into the season, good for him.  Great for him, even.

The main issue here is that we should have never acquired him in the first place because there was no need for another LD making 7M+ with Hughes having already demonstrated he could play the top pair.  Not taking into consideration the clear evidence that he was declining at the time of his acquisition.
 

Whether he plays well or not, the fact remains the Canucks are stuck with a sizeable buyout for the next while.

 

Also, moronic was acquiring another $7 mil LD when we already had one of the best in the league capable of 27 min a night. That would have been like acquiring Bobrovsky to back up Demko. 

[Gawdzukes]

6 minutes ago, Blue said:

No it wasn't. Not even close. Top 10 bad trades involve elite players. This trade didn't. Not even top 20, sorry to burst your bubble

 

Aww, I'll be alright blue. It seemed pretty bad to me. Maybe you could list the worse trades. It would be interesting to see. My gawd was that bad for us though. Not only did we give up a 9th overall when we desperately needed cap space but we added $12 million in useless cap. Yuck.

[NewbieCanuckFan]

27 minutes ago, Gawdzukes said:

 

That was the worst move in Canucks history 

Tough choice between OEL & Louie E.  But at least OEL played fairly well in his first season as a Canuck.  Louie stunk like chicken manure from his 1st shift until his last shift.  Though at least he was just signed as a free agent unlike OEL.  

 

Hilarious that Louie was actually plan B.  JB wanted Lucic but he turned him down.  

Edited September 26, 2023 by NewbieCanuckFan

[Gawdzukes]

1 minute ago, NewbieCanuckFan said:

Tough choice between OEL & Louie E.  But at least OEL played fairly well in his first season as a Canuck.  Louie stunk like chicken manure from his 1st shift until his last shift.  Though at least he was just signed as a free agent unlike OEL.  

 

Hilarious that Louie was actually plan B.  JB wanted Lucic but he turned him down.  

 

Yeah Louie was bad too but really didn't destroy an opportunity to compete like OEL and Garland have. Petey and Hughes weren't quite ready circa Louis the great. 

[PhillipBlunt]

1 hour ago, RWJC said:

No offense Phillip but I’d argue it might just be relevant until the end of 2031.  (big sigh)

 

 

 

The cap hit will be a headache. I just don't think that OEL is going to have some renaissance in Florida. 

[Canuckle]

"Rutherford, fix the blueline! Fix the PK! We suck!!"

 

[Buys out OEL for the space to do it]

 

"No, not like that!"

 

Crazy part is the org, OEL and his camp all originally thought he would be back this year. Exit interviews were good, felt he could bounce back. (And he will likely perform well above that 2.25 bargain deal in Florida.)

 

But with a dead cold trade market to make space the Canucks had no choice. The cap hit sucks but we can't have it both ways.

[Dr. Crossbar]

No matter what OEL does this season, how many points he gets or how much he improves, he wasn't going to do it here. And I'm glad we bought him out and moved on.

 

If he returns to form, or performs better than he did here, he likely needed to be bought out and be perceived like he sucks for him to prove people wrong. 

[RWJC]

53 minutes ago, PhillipBlunt said:

The cap hit will be a headache. I just don't think that OEL is going to have some renaissance in Florida. 

I hear ya. I just created the thread because we will be living with the ghost of OEL for some tine, and the boxscore might also just rule up some continued ramblings hah