Through three outings, blue line newcomer Oliver Ekman-Larsson has been a revelation for the Maple Leafs.
It’s super early but the large contingent of hockey folk that disliked the signing on Canada Day are undeniably ducking for cover right now. To quote Louis Domingue, “not the best.”
There’s lots of racetrack to go, but so far so good.
Furthermore, at this point, I think it’s fair to say that far and away, Ekman-Larsson’s been Toronto’s best defenceman. As such, Craig Berube rewarded the 2024 Stanley Cup champion with a whopping 25:02 of ice-time in Saturday night’s 4-2 win against Kyle Dubas’ Pittsburgh Penguins. Additionally, halfway through the game, the Swede even replaced Morgan Rielly on the No. 1 power play unit, too. He earned it.
For me, it’s the physical aspect of Ekman-Larsson’s game that has really impressed thus far. He’s playing with bite, snarl, and passion. Quite frankly, his game has Paul Maurice written all over it. This is not the guy we saw in Vancouver, nor is it the one who was an All-Star in Arizona. Any way you slice it, it’s exactly what the Maple Leafs have direly needed on the back end. He’s been a beast, and if this continues, Toronto could make out like gang busters on this signing.
Having said all that, I think Craig Berube and Lane Lambert need to manage Ekman-Larsson’s minutes accordingly. He’s not a spring chicken anymore, and the last thing you want to do is run him into the ground early in the season. Simply put, you don’t want to give him too much too soon.
When it comes to the power play though, unequivocally, I think Ekman-Larsson should be running the first unit. In fact, I think they should’ve started the season with him at the helm, but so be it. The sample size may have been small on Saturday night, but undeniably, PP1 looked its best of the early season with No. 95 quarterbacking things. The power play’s an ugly 0-for-9, it’s time to give this experiment some run time. Hopefully, it lasts longer than the whole Nylander at centre thing.
I said it on July 1, and I’ll say it here in mid-October, if deployed correctly, I think Oliver Ekman-Larsson could prove to be a steal of a signing.
