Oliver Ekman-Larsson made waves by leaving the Stanley Cup-winning Florida Panthers in free agency to sign a multi-year deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Despite Florida’s interest in retaining him, Ekman-Larsson quickly inked a deal with Toronto. He explained his decision to Craig Morgan of GoPhnx.com.
“It’s so weird. You just won the Cup with a team that you have been battling with for a year and love so much and have so much respect for — the whole organization with what they have done for me personally — so it wasn’t an easy decision. I am a guy that always tries to go with my gut feeling and when Toronto showed interest, I got that feeling that this is what I wanted to do and this is what we wanted to do as a family,” Ekman-Larsson said.
“I’ve always liked coming in there as an away team, playing in that building. It’s always special. Obviously, there’s a lot of history in the organization and I feel like they have a really good team that has a chance to do something special as well. I think it’s a good fit,” he added.
Ekman-Larsson signed a four-year, $14 million deal with Toronto on July 1 to bolster their defensive core. He expressed excitement about playing in Toronto and helping the Maple Leafs pursue their first Stanley Cup since 1967.
Ekman-Larsson Has Familiarity With Maple Leafs Front Office
Ekman-Larsson’s familiarity with Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving and executive Shane Doan influenced his decision to sign with Toronto. Treliving, who began his career as an assistant GM with the Arizona Coyotes, worked with Ekman-Larsson and Doan during their time there. This previous connection played a crucial role in his choice.
“I don’t want to sound like I’m sucking up to him but Brad is one unbelievable person. I don’t think Toronto knows how lucky they are to have a guy like that who cares a lot about his surroundings and organization and players. And then the other guy, he’s okay, too. He meant so much to me with what he did for me when I was a kid in Arizona. Playing with a guy like that — I wish everybody had the chance to be around a guy like Doaner,” Ekman-Larsson said.
Ekman-Larsson has played in 982 regular-season games, recording 144 goals and 327 assists for 471 points.
Treliving Pleased With Upgrades on Defense
Toronto was active in free agency, signing veterans Chris Tanev and Ekman-Larsson to multi-year deals. Treliving expressed his excitement about these additions.
“We’ve got a group of defensemen. I’d rather have too many than not enough, and we’ll try to sort this out in the coming days. Today’s a day that you can add players, but you build your team over the course of the summer. There are certainly some areas that we still want to address and still want to augment,” Treliving said on July 1.
The Toronto Maple Leafs will kick off their 2024-25 NHL season on the road against the Montreal Canadiens on October 9.
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