Panthers expected to sign D Ekman-Larsson to one-year deal
Published
The Florida Panthers are expected to sign unrestricted free agent defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson to a one-year, $2.25 million deal, according to TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger.
Ekman-Larsson, 31, played last season with the Vancouver Canucks, recording two goals and 22 points in 54 games.
Drafted sixth overall by the Arizona Coyotes in 2009, Ekman-Larsson has 135 goals and 439 points in 902 career games split between the Coyotes and Canucks.
The Canucks bought out the remaining four years of his eight-year, $66 million deal on June 16 to send him to unrestricted free agency.
Ekman-Larsson was acquired by the Canucks from the Coyotes in July of 2021 in exchange for forwards Loui Eriksson, Jay Beagle, Antoine Roussel, and two draft picks.
The native of Karlskrona, Sweden, represented his country at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Russia, recording three assists in six games en route to a silver medal.
He has also represented Sweden seven times at the IIHF World Championship and won two gold medals (2017, 2018), a silver medal (2011), and a bronze medal (2010).
Ekman-Larsson appeared in four games for Sweden at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, helping the country to a third-place finish.