Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson speaks on last season's trade rumors, chimes in on the changes coming to the organization, and discusses the uncertainty of his future with the team.
Last season, Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson was in the spotlight of trade rumors near the NHL trade deadline. The Maple Leafs turned sellers, and the veteran blueliner was potentially on the market.
A few months later, Ekman-Larsson is now in Switzerland, captaining Sweden at the 2026 World Championship. At the tournament, the 34-year-old spoke to hockeysverige.se about his experience as trade bait, but also the future of the Maple Leafs, and the uncertainty about his future with the organization.
As it became clearer that the Maple Leafs weren't going to be a playoff team throughout last season, Ekman-Larsson, who had his best campaign offensively since 2018-19, popped up in trade rumors.
As the trade deadline approached, former Leafs GM Brad Treliving decided to scratch Ekman-Larsson, as well as Bobby McMann and Scott Laughton, for a couple of games and was labelled as asset protection.
While McMann and Laughton were both dealt, Ekman-Larsson remained. And over a week later, he and his wife, Maja, welcomed their second child, making the stay sweeter.
"I think the whole thing about us having children just two weeks after that made it even more special," Ekman-Larsson told hockeysverige.se in Swedish.
Although the aftermath of not being dealt was relieving for Ekman-Larsson, he did not enjoy the experience of sitting up in the press box while healthy and available.
"It was something new for me to go through that in the middle of the season," he said. "I've been bought out and traded before, but this was new."
Though he didn't end up getting moved last season, it doesn't mean he's safe from being traded this year. Ekman-Larsson will be entering the third year of his four-year contract next season, earning $3.5 million against the salary cap. Additionally, he has a 16-team no-trade list, according to puckpedia.com.
It's clear that with new leadership in the front office, GM John Chayka and senior executive advisor Mats Sundin, there's a real possibility for the roster to experience significant changes. That could include Ekman-Larsson.
Even if he remains safe through this off-season, another down year for the Maple Leafs could see the organization be sellers at the trade deadline once again.
For Ekman-Larsson, he's not going to distract himself with all the unanswered questions.
"You don't know," he said. "Something will probably happen…what will happen, I don't know. It's those who sit in a chair higher up, with John and Mats and that whole organization, who will make the decisions.
"As with everything else, all I can do is focus on doing my best every day. Then you hope that's enough," Ekman-Larsson added.
"It usually works out one way or another. There's no point in thinking about it, you just have to try to rule it out. We'll see what the summer has to offer, no matter what, I'm determined to go back there," the defenseman concluded.
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