Ekman-Larsson has final 4 years of contract bought out by Canucks

The 31-year-old defenseman will be able to sign with any team as an unrestricted free agent July 1.

Ekman-Larsson signed an eight-year, $66 million contract ($8.25 million average annual value) with the Arizona Coyotes on July 1, 2018; he was traded to the Canucks on July 23, 2021.

"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."

NHL teams are permitted to buy out a player's contract to obtain a reduced salary cap hit over a period of twice the remaining length of contract. With $29 million remaining on Ekman-Larsson's contract, the buyout spans eight years, at a cost of $19,333,333 and a savings of $9,666,667. If the Canucks retained Ekman-Larsson, he would have been paid a total of $18.5 million over the next two years alone.

Ekman-Larsson had 22 points (two goals, 20 assists) in 54 games this season, his fewest since he had 11 points in his rookie season with the Coyotes in 2010-11. His 20:11 of ice time per game was also his lowest since 2010-11. In two seasons with the Canucks, he had 51 points (seven goals, 44 assists) in 133 games.

Selected by the Coyotes in the first round (No. 6) of the 2009 NHL Draft, Ekman-Larsson has 439 points (135 goals, 304 assists) in 902 regular-season games for the Canucks and Coyotes, and eight points (two goals, six assists) in 25 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

Ekman-Larsson was Coyotes captain for three seasons (2018-21).

Vancouver (38-37-7) finished sixth in the Pacific Division this season and failed to qualify for the playoffs for the third straight season.