According to a report from Darren Dreger, the Arizona Coyotes have reached a verbal agreement to re-sign defencemen Oliver Ekman-Larsson to an eight-year deal worth $66 million or $8.25 million per season AAV. The contract can not be signed until July 1st and will begin in the 2019-20 season.
Sources say the Arizona Coyotes have reached a verbal agreement on a contract extension for Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) June 12, 2018
Numbers speculated on OEL verbal agreement are correct. 8 yrs…$8.25 aav. No move clause. Likely captaincy. Yotes and OEL…all in.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) June 12, 2018
Oliver Ekman-Larsson Re-Signs with Yotes
Oliver Ekman-Larsson has spent his entire eight-year career with the Arizona Coyotes. He has put up 102 goals and 188 assists for 290 career points in 576 career games. Ekman-Larsson has also added a goal and three assists for four points in 16 career Stanley Cup Playoff games. He was originally drafted in the first round, sixth overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft by the Phoenix Coyotes. His best season was in the 2015-16 season when he scored 21 goals and 34 assists for 55 points in 75 games.
Last season, he scored 14 goals and 28 assists for 42 points in 82 games. He also added 44 minutes in penalties. His possession numbers were 51.4 percent Corsi with a relative Corsi of +5. Ekman-Larsson has one year left on his six-year, $33 million dollar contract with an AAV of $5.5 million per season.
What Does This Mean for the Future
Ekman-Larsson is one of the top defensemen on the Coyotes and part of the team’s current rebuild. In fact, he is generally considered to be one of the top defensemen in the NHL. Even with eight years of NHL experience his still one of the top young players on the Coyotes. He also has 46 of his 102 career goals on the power-play. Ekman-Larsson plays major ice-time for Arizona. This year he averaged 23:41 of ice-time per game. He is currently playing on the top defensive pairing with Alex Goligoski. Ekman-Larson also brings his physicality to the Yotes line-up registering 160 hits this year.
Main Photo:
ST. PAUL, MN – FEBRUARY 08: Arizona Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson (23) in action in the 1st period during the Western Conference game between the Arizona Coyotes and the Minnesota Wild on February 8, 2018 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by David Berding/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)