Defenseman for the $14 million Maple Leafs explains why he chose Toronto over the Panthers
Oliver Ekman-Larsson made the decision to sign a multi-year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs and leave the Florida Panthers during his free agency.
Ekman-Larsson signed a fast free agent contract with Toronto after helping Florida win the Stanley Cup, even though the Panthers were interested in bringing him back. But the defenseman gave an explanation of his decision to sign with the Maple Leafs to Craig Morgan of GoPhnx.com.
It’s really strange. It wasn’t an easy decision because you recently won the Cup with a team you have been playing with for a year, and you love and appreciate the entire organization for everything they have done for me personally. As a guy, I always try to follow my instincts, and when Toronto expressed interest, I had the impression that this was what my family and I wanted to accomplish, too,” Ekman-Larsson remarked.
“I’ve always enjoyed playing at that building when we’re an away team. It’s always unique. The company is obviously rich in history, and I believe they have a talented team that has the potential to accomplish great things. It seems like a nice fit, Ekman-Larsson continued.
On July 1, Ekman-Larsson committed to a four-year, $14 million contract with Toronto in an effort to strengthen their defensive core.
Says Ekman-Larsson that he’s excited to play in Toronto and contribute to the Maple Leafs’ first Stanley Cup victory since 1967.
Ekman-Larsson is Acquainted with the Front Office of the Maple Leafs
Ekman-Larsson’s signing in Toronto was facilitated by his acquaintance with executive Shane Doan and general manager Brad Treliving of the Maple Leafs.
When Treliving first started his career, he was an assistant general manager for the Arizona Coyotes, where Doan and Ekman-Larsson were players. The defenceman says he’s excited to collaborate with Treliving and Doan once more because they were once teammates.
Without coming across as sultry, let me say that Brad is an amazing person. Toronto is extremely fortunate to have a person like that who is so concerned about his players, organization, and surrounds. And the other man, he’s all right. Because of what he did for me as a child in Arizona, he had a special place in my heart. Ekman-Larsson remarked, “Playing with a guy like that makes me wish everyone had the opportunity to be around a guy like Doaner.”
In 982 regular season games, Ekman-Larsson skated and scored 144 goals, 327 assists, and 471 points.
Treliving Is Happy With The Defense Upgrades
Toronto signed multi-year contracts with Chris Tanev and Ekman-Larsson in free agency, strengthening their defense.
Treliving is thrilled that Tanev and Ekman-Larsson are NHL veterans with a ton of expertise.
“We have a defensive group. We will attempt to resolve this in the upcoming days. I would rather to have too many than not enough. You can add players today, but during the summer, you assemble your team. Treliving stated on July 1 that “there are definitely some areas that we still want to address and still want to augment.”
On October 9, Toronto will take on the Montreal Canadiens on the road to begin the 2024–25 NHL season.
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