Maple Leafs Star Blown Away by Early Performance of Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Although Ekman-Larsson won the Stanley Cup this past summer with the Florida Panthers, his role was diminished from what we remember from his earlier days in Arizona.

Perhaps long-gone are the days where Ekman-Larsson will pot 40-50 points and double digit power play goals. However, he has become a solid 2nd or 3rd pair defensemen since his departure with the Vancouver Canucks, and was popular with teammates during his time with the Panthers.

Last year, OEL recorded his most points in a single-season since 2018-19 with 32 points in 80 games, all while averaging a career-low 18:24 TOI. With how deep Florida was, Ekman-Larsson wasn't expected to the alpha-male on the back end; something that's very similar to his situation in Toronto.

With Chris Tanev, Morgan Rielly, and Jake McCabe all ahead of him in the hierarchy, Ekman-Larsson should thrive and his fellow countryman in William Nylander seems to believe so as well:

He enters tonight's game against Pittsburgh with 984 career games under his belt, 472 points, and 22:45 ATOI. While the post-season has alluded him due to his playing days in Arizona, he still has 49 games of playoff experience, including 24 last year with the Stanley Cup winning Panthers.

In 2 games with the Leafs to start the year, Ekman-Larsson has tallied an assist, is a plus-2, and has seen 20:40 TOI per game. He has helped stabilize the Maple Leafs' back end and should be able to alleviate some of the pressure for players like Tanev and Rielly, drawing some quality assignments moving forward.