[Friedman] There is word this afternoon that Vancouver will buy out Oliver Ekman-Larsson. He will be an unrestricted free agent.
There is word this afternoon that Vancouver will buy out Oliver Ekman-Larsson. He will be an unrestricted free agent.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 16, 2023
by electricnux
27 Comments
Thank you Jim 🙏
Jet Black Jimmy Rutherford!
Woooooowwwww!!! Offseason is kicking into high gear! Really hope we don’t blow that cap space on an overpriced vet in free agency.
Also, the OEL trade continues to look worse and worse. One of the worst trades in Canucks history, and that’s saying something.
Wow. They’re actually going to do it. Can’t believe Aqua OK’d that, honestly.
Um…. Wow
Guess they really really needed the cap space
I don’t know if I like it but if it needed to be done it needed to be done
Long term Elias Pettersson extension incoming!
It was now or never. Not a big surprise given the organization’s posture the last year.
Jimbo’s legacy attached to that buyout cap hit until 2030-31. That doesn’t even sound like a real season.
With OEL bought out and Garland on his way out, with Guenther the way he is, that trade has been a pure unmitigated disaster…
I really thought they would wait another year or two, but maybe the thinking is that the cap will go up substantially in a few years and the 2.1M until 2031 won’t hurt so bad?
Fuck Jim Benning.
The best part is Francesco Aquilini having to waste his money
One of the worst trades in Canucks history, Jesus Christ. The gift of Jet Black Jim keeps on giving. He was a boat anchor on D but those year 3/4 cap hits are gonna be tough for a guy not on your roster.
Fuck Jim Benning
Tell me the cap implications I’m scared
Awful trade once it was announced. Canucks should’ve just waited a year for their cap dumps to expire. Only bottom 5 team that was adding pieces like a cup contender.
I thought they would’ve waited to see how a healthy OEL looked next season before doing this but clearly this is a signal the Canucks are ALL IN NOW.
This is short term thinking piled onto short term thinking.
I also don’t think they would do this unless they had another major deal in place where they needed the cap space.
Should be a fun couple weeks.
Like or hate the decision, management flopped their nuts on the table for this one and I can’t help but respect it. They’re going for it.
Definitely trying to fix the Benning-era debacles and put their own stamp on the roster, rather than shrug and blame the situation they were put in by the last guy. Refreshing.
Gotta love how this franchise never plans further than the upcoming year. It’s that shortsighted view that keeps us competitive for that 10-15 overall draft pick!
Thank you Benning
Really surprised by this. Thought for sure they were going to wait another year or two. But they have to trim the fat and OEL was the biggest piece of fat on this roster. Respect to PA for pulling the trigger. And a big middle finger to Benning. Words can’t describe how much I despise him.
Currently Canucks defence is basically:
– Hughes / Hronek
– Blank / Blank
– Blank / Myers (?)
– Blank / Blank
I haven’t seen this mentioned yet, but this buyout could be important for future contract negotiations on the team. Particularly for defensemen.
It’d be easy for someone like Hronek to say “Pay me more than OEL, I contribute a lot more to the team than him” vs. “Pay me more than Hughes…”
I know there are broader negotiations involved, and comparisons extend to players on other teams too. But from management’s perspective, there HAS to be some value being able to point to your top performers and create an internal ceiling.
Getting rid of OEL will help anchor future defensemen contracts below Hughes. At least for players who want to play in Vancouver and acknowledge that Hughes is top dog.
Whoa, something must be brewing. They would not have done this if they did not have Step#2. But then again, we can be still be surprised. OEL just did not find his game, waiting for him to bounce back would have been agony.
They are working to re-sign Petey. This feels like a “we’re building towards something” move IMO. It’s a good move. Now let’s move Myers
Benning definitely deserves most of the blame, but the current management isn’t blameless either. They created this cap crunch by taking on more contracts before moving any out. They could’ve waited to trade for Hronek or extend Kuzmenko but they needed to sell a bounce back team during a lost season.
I think an understated part of this buyout is that it removes the black cloud hanging over the team.
If management wants to change the culture of the team, it really needs to be a meritocracy and OEL was the antithesis of this.