It’s the early stages of the regular season for the Toronto Maple Leafs and everyone is getting a good look at the new additions. One of the big additions from this past offseason was Oliver Ekman-Larsson. He has been very noticeable in the opening week of the regular season. Noticeable enough to earn some heavy minutes on this Leafs team. While it’s only been a handful of games, the 33-year-old has been averaging well over 20 minutes in that time. The last time he played that much was in his hay day with the Phoenix and Arizona Coyotes.
Ekman-Larsson has played great in all situations and done anything that could be asked of him. At even strength, he’s jumped up in the play. He’s been bumped up to the first power-play unit and has looked dangerous there too. Not to mention, he’s been holding up his end of the bargain on the defensive side.
Ekman-Larsson Driving the Offence From the Blueline
Throughout the course of his career, Ekman-Larsson has been know for his offensive ability. He’s an excellent skater and a respectable puck handler. Also, he is typically the primary breakout passer, and as he should be, he is an elite puck-mover. Essentially, he is dangerous all over the ice, a great quality to have as a blueliner. In addition, he has a great shot and he has been utilizing that skill a lot to begin this season.
Aside from the three-time Rocket Richard Trophy winner Auston Matthews, Ekman-Larsson leads the Leafs in shots on goal. The Swede currently has 11 shots on net, four fewer than Matthews’ total of 15 in three games. Granted, it’s still very early in the 2024-25 season. However, his current pace of 3.6 shots per game is the highest pace he’s ever had in his career. As a defenceman, those are some tremendous numbers. For reference, he’s been keeping up with offensive D-men in their primes such as 31-year-old Dougie Hamilton. He’s also beating out players such as Quinn Hughes, Cale Makar, and Adam Fox. All those young defencemen that were listed are all Norris Trophy winners in the last four seasons.
A player’s quality isn’t decided on shots per game. However, it’s still worth noting Ekman-Larsson’s shot totals so far this season.
Leading the Power Play From the Back
Recently, Ekman-Larsson has been promoted to quarterback the top power-play unit of the Maple Leafs. It’s a star-studded unit with Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander. Normally, Morgan Rielly walks the blueline on Toronto’s top unit. However, after three games and nine attempts with the extra man, Leaf Craig Berube believes Ekman-Larsson deserves a chance.
The difference between Ekman-Larsson and Rielly is their shot. Generically, the Maple Leafs rarely shoot from the point with their defenceman. For the longest time, it’s always been Rielly at the top of the power play. The 30-year-old isn’t known for having a heavy shot. Most of the time he’s playing it to Matthews, Marner, or Nylander on the half-boards. And whenever he would shoot from the point, it never felt threatening. Oftentimes it’s a feathered shot for the purpose of a deflection or re-direction. It’s infrequent for him to shoot looking to beat the opposing goaltender. Now, with Ekman-Larsson at the point, there’s the additional threat of the potential of a shot. Opposing penalty killers will now have to take note of other dangers than just their shooters on the flank. This change makes Toronto a little less predictable.
Lately, the Leafs’ power play has been struggling so adding Ekman-Larsson may change things. OEL has gotten power play time everywhere he’s played. Even when his career took a dip with the Vancouver Canucks, he still got points. In his two seasons with the Canucks he scored 14 power-play points.
Therefore, if Ekman-Larsson takes hold of this opportunity, he has a good chance to lead the Leafs’ defence in scoring this season.
Main Photo Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
