Ekman-Larsson has already heard from several of his new Panthers teammates and is excited to move down to South Florida
Oliver Ekman-Larsson wants to succeed.
Make no mistake, he signed with the Florida Panthers because he felt they presented a great opportunity for him to help a team win a Stanley Cup.
Sure, it also acts as a fresh start with a franchise that won’t be relying on him to be the guy on the blueline, one where he’ll be surrounded by talent both at forward and with his fellow rearguards, but speaking to the media via Zoom from “the middle of the woods” as he put it, Ekman-Larsson made it clear why he choose Florida.
“I want to win, and I want to play for a long time during the year,” he said. “Looking at their team, I think they have a lot of good hockey players, plus a lot of depth on the team. I've only heard a lot of good things about the team and the guys on the team, so I'm super excited to be joining Florida.”
When debating where to continue his career, Ekman-Larsson looked at many factors.
In the Panthers, he saw a team that was not only poised to compete for a championship, but one that could offer a place to play and flourish.
Florida is expected to be without the services of one or both of Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour early next season as they recover from summer shoulder surgery.
Until the team is fully healthy, they will need players like Ekman-Larsson to help carry the load, and he feels confident that he can do just that.
“I think I can help the Panther a lot,” he said. “I think I can do that even when they are back, and that's why I wanted to sign there. You want to have a good team, and I think when those guys are coming back, I think it's going to be a really good team. I just hope that I can help the team, even if they are hurt in the beginning, they will come back and I'm just going to try to do what I can to help the team win hockey games. Hopefully they will get back pretty quick here.”
Ekman-Larsson has been to the playoffs exactly twice during his 13 years in the NHL, once during his sophomore season in 2012 and again during the bubble playoffs in 2020.
Once considered among the top offensive-defensemen in the game, it’s been a tough few years for Ekman-Larsson.
He signed a big contract extension with Arizona in 2018 before being traded to Vancouver, who ultimately bought out the final four years of that contract following two disappointing seasons in the pacific northwest.
Now he’ll play for a club literally on the opposite side of the continent, ready for a fresh start with a team in win-now mode.
Ekman-Larsson has yet to arrive in South Florida, but he said he’s already heard from many of his fellow Panthers over the phone and via text.
The Florida locker room has earned itself a reputation as being one of the best and closest in the league, and now Ekman-Larsson is getting a proper introduction into being a part of the Panthers.
“It's always a good start when your new teammates are reaching out and texting, it makes you feel welcome and at home right away, so that’s something that you really appreciate,” he said. “You have a lot of questions as to where to live and that kind of stuff, so they've been very helpful and very, very nice to me.”