NHL trade rumors: 3 teams who should trade for Oliver Ekman-Larsson

According to the latest NHL trade rumors, Oliver Ekman-Larsson of the Arizona Coyotes is on the trading block.

This offseason will be filled of action for the Arizona Coyotes. Their punishment for violating the league’s Combine Testing Policy leaves them without a 2020 second-round pick or a 2021 first-round pick. According to the latest NHL trade rumors, the Coyotes are shopping most of their players. One of them is team captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

Recently, The Athletic put him second on the offseason trade bait list and TSN placed him fourth on theirs. Reportedly, OEL’s patience with the Coyotes is starting to wear a bit thin, so to speak. Ekman-Larsson has been in the league since the 2010-11 season and has only appeared in two postseasons. That’s got to be pretty darn frustrating.

Yes, Ekman-Larsson has a no-movement clause. However, he might be willing to waive it to get out of the desert. This has been a rough year for the Coyotes and it wouldn’t be surprising if OEL has had enough. They’re reportedly shopping star goaltender Darcy Kuemper as well.

Ekman-Larsson has seven years left on his current contract, which has an average annual value of $8.25 million. In these hard times, teams might not be willing to take on that contract. As a matter of fact, according to Spotrac, there are already nine teams who have less than $8.25 million of cap space.

Trading OEL will be complicated, but he’s a very talented defenseman who is highly respected around the league. Left-handed defensemen like Ekman-Larsson usually aren’t available. Even during these tough financial times, if OEL is available, he’s going to draw some interest. It will be hard to make things work financially, but maybe a team or two thinks Ekman-Larsson is worth the effort.

Without further ado, let’s look at three potential fits for Oliver Ekman-Larsson.