What happened to Oliver Ekman-Larsson? Analyzing the downfall of one of NHL's best defensemen

Oliver Ekman-Larsson has gone from one of the best defensemen in the NHL to being bought out by the Vancouver Canucks.

Ekman-Larsson was drafted sixth overall by the Phoenix Coyotes in 2009 - who were later renamed the Arizona Coyotes. The Swede made his NHL debut during the 2010-11 season but really didn't start to shine until 2013 as a full-time NHL defenseman and a very good one.

Known as 'OEL' to many fans, Ekman-Larsson was hailed as one of the best offensive defensemen as he led the Coyotes in scoring in both 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.

After five more solid seasons with Arizona, Ekman-Larsson was shockingly traded to the Vancouver Canucks in the summer of 2021. Vancouver acquired Ekman-Larsson and Conor Garland for Jay Beagle, Loui Eriksson, Antonie Roussel, a 2021 first-round pick, a 2022 second-round pick, and a 2023 seventh-round pick.

However, with the Canucks, Oliver Ekman-Larsson's career really began to struggle, in large part due to his contract.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson's troubling contract

In his first season with the Canucks, Ekman-Larsson had just 29 points in 75 games. While this past season, the Swede played in just 54 games and had just 22 points, with only two goals as his offense had a sleep decline.

In 2018, Ekman-Larsson signed an eight-year, $66 million contract and was due $8.25 million for four more seasons. Given how long his contract is, and his not playing well offensively, made his contract one of the worst in the NHL.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson played in 133 games with the Canucks but only registered seven goals, which is a major disappointment. His skating also took a bit of a decline as he couldn't go on offensive rushes as often as he wanted.

According to the Canucks, they said buying out Ekman-Larsson gives them more flexibility with the cap.

"We would like to thank Oliver for the time he spent in Vancouver," Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said. "The business of hockey is very complex and tough decisions have to be made if you want to remain competitive.

"Buying out Oliver gives us a lot more flexibility and cap space the next couple of years and significantly reduces his hit in the subsequent seasons. It is our expectation that following this year, the cap will also raise considerably making this the right time to execute this buyout.

"Our organization is committed to do whatever it needs to do to improve, get better on and off the ice and move forward in a positive direction."

Unfortunately, age seems to have caught up to Oliver Ekman-Larsson as he has slowed down and his shot is no longer there.

Ekman-Larsson will likely sign with a team and be a third-pairing defenseman, but he likely will only make $1 million as he no longer is as great offensively.