Massive buyout for Oliver Ekman-Larsson sprinkled over the next 8 years in Vancouver!

Word is that the Vancouver Canucks have bought out defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

Many insiders and Cap Friendly broke down what the buyout means for the Canucks, who will need to pay him out over the next eight years. The team will save approximately $9.67M in total dollars by buying out OEL.

Ekman-Larsson has four years remaining on his current contract at an average annual value of $7.26 million. Based on the salary owed to OEL, Vancouver will have him in its books for around $2.4 million per season, running through 2030-31.

The veteran defenseman, who was traded to Vancouver from the Arizona Coyotes, along with Conor Garland, in July 2021 in exchange for the No. 9 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft and forwards Loui Eriksson, Jay Beagle and Antoine Roussel, scored only two goals and registered 20 assists in 54 games for the Canucks in 2022-23.

The Coyotes will also get a small cap hit every year as a result of the buyout.

Per Rick Dhaliwal, OEL's agent Kevin Epp got the call from the team on Friday morning. 

"We were surprised, Oliver met with management and ownership after the season and did not believe this would happen."

The focus now in Vancouver will be to use this space wisely to build a contender. The Canucks later confirmed the buyout and made this statement: 

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