Colby Guy
FORT LAUDERDALE — After fighting injuries the past two years, Oliver Ekman-Larsson finally feels like himself again with the Florida Panthers.
And it is showing on and off the ice.
Ekman-Larsson spent his final two seasons with the Vancouver Canucks rehabbing lower-body injuries and had not felt healthy going into either season.
Yet with the Panthers, Ekman-Larsson started on the top defensive pairing with Gus Forsling.
With Aaron Ekblad out with injury again, OEL is back with Forsling.
Less than a year removed from the biggest buyout in NHL history, this has been a big bounce back year for Ekman-Larsson.
“He had a whole block of time where he played hurt, and he brought those injuries into the summer,” coach Paul Maurice said. “So you’re rehabbing, not training.
“This was the first summer in a couple of years where he was no longer rehabbing an injury. He healed during the season and then he got to summer training. And I think we understand his intelligence, his ability to play both sides. He’s got really strong puck skills, but there’s an edge to his game. He plays a competitive game in front of our net and in the corner, so we appreciate that.”
Ekman-Larsson’s season in Vancouver came to an end with an ankle injury — and then he was bought out.
But the injury did allow him to heal and start a season healthy.
It also gave him a chance to win.
“I think injuries were one part of it, and we were not winning as a team,” Ekman-Larsson told FHN. “I think that’s always the biggest struggle. I think you play to win and be on a winning team, and that’s the frustrating part.
“Being healthy now and feeling good, you have a chance to do something special with a special group of guys. I think that’s super exciting, but it’s not always positive. You have to go through some hard stuff to kind of find yourself as a person and a player. I think every player goes through that, and I’ve been going through that like everybody else, and it’s how you deal with it and come out of it. That’s what defines you as a player and as a person. So I’m excited to be here and excited to be a part of a winning culture.”
Ekman-Larsson started the season playing a pivotal role on the Panthers with Ekblad and Brandon Montour out of the lineup.
He played top-pairing minutes and manned the No. 1 power play unit while helping the Panthers thrive, rather than suffer, without two of their best defensemen.
But even when both of those guys returned to the lineup, he continued playing well, and it parlayed into a nine-goal, 28-point season through the first 68 games of the year.
Both totals are on pace to be his best since he was traded from the Arizona Coyotes to Vancouver following the 2019-20 season.
“It makes you happy to see a guy like that,” Forsling said. “It’s a guy I watched before I came over here. He’s a really good guy off the ice, too, so he really deserves it.
”He’s had a big impact right from the beginning when we started playing together. He was logging a lot of big minutes and he is good at everything. He was on PP1, the penalty kill, so he’s got a lot of experience and he is just a really good guy to have on your team.”
The 32-year-old has the experience and maturity to adjust to whatever role the team needs him to play.
Ranking fifth among active NHL defensemen in power-play goals (59), he can provide an offensive punch when needed while equally committed to the defensive side of the game.
“That’s just him,” Forsling said. “He is such a good guy that doesn’t have an ego. He just puts the team first, so he doesn’t care. He always comes in with the same attitude. He’s the game good guy with the same smile on his face, so he knows what it’s all about and it’s cool to see.”
With Aaron Ekblad out of the lineup with a lower-body injury, he is right back to playing on the top pair alongside Forsling.
“I feel good about it,” Ekman-Larsson said of his fit on the team. “I’ve always been a guy that is trying to do what’s best for the team and just trying to do what’s asked of me out there.
”That’s playing on the penalty kill, 5-on-5 or against the Top 2 lines, I feel comfortable in all kinds of situations. So it’s just fun to be a part of a winning team and a winning culture. It’s always nice when you get asked to do a little bit more and get more of a chance to do more, but I don’t really think about it. I just go out there and play and try to do my best every single day and go about my business.”
After all, why shouldn’t Ekman-Larsson be happy?
He has the best shot at winning a Stanley Cup that he’s had in his entire career.
After a couple of rough years with the Vancouver Canucks — who turned things around this season — and a slew of early exits with the Coyotes, he finds himself on a team that made the Stanley Cup Final last season and has carried that over into success this year.
For him, it’s his first real chance at a Cup since he made the Western Conference final with the Coyotes in 2012.
“I think that’s what I what you want, especially where I’m at in my career where I haven’t been able to have my chance since my second or third year when we went kind of deep to the Western Conference finals,” Ekman-Larsson said. “But other than that, I haven’t really been a part of a long run, so that’s one of the reasons why I wanted to come here.
”I heard a lot of good things and I’ve really liked the group of guys here so far. It’s been great. We just have to continue building and finding ways to get better. I feel like it’s been a long year to go through struggles as a team, and I don’t feel like I’ve had a lot of them, but now it’s about to ramp up a little bit, and it’s time to get into that playoff mode a bit.”