Oilers' Ekholm says he loves the city of Edmonton way more than he expected
Mattias Ekholm has grown to love the city of Edmonton much more than he initially expected over these past few years.
The Swedish defender inked a three-year extension with the Oilers on Wednesday morning, ensuring that he will remain in the Alberta capital through the 2028-29 NHL season. At that point, Ekholm will be 39 years old and near the end of his professional career.
It’s been an amazing tenure thus far for Ekholm, having helped the Oilers to two straight Stanley Cup Final appearances and becoming one of the team’s top defenders. While playing on a winning team is certainly helpful, the Swede raved about how much he loves living in Edmonton to reporters in the lead-up to the Oilers’ home opener.
“We’re super happy it got done, and we’re super happy to stay in Edmonton,” Ekholm said. “It’s been the full package, my wife loves it here, our kids love it here, they have school, they have friends, we have a really big network outside of hockey.
“I’ve been really surprised about the community that is within Edmonton, I think it’s fantastic. I think there are places around Edmonton that are absolutely gorgeous. We really enjoy being here and are very happy with the way it has turned out.”
"We’re super happy it got done, we’re happy to stay in Edmonton."
Mattias Ekholm speaks after signing a three-year contact extension on opening day of the 2025-26 #Oilers season.@Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/WGrkvDrgKb
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 8, 2025
The city of Edmonton has garnered a bit of a rough reputation from outsiders. It’s the northernmost NHL franchise and is often stereotyped as being a frozen wasteland with not much in the way of entertainment outside of the Oilers. It’s an unfortunate way to look at the Alberta capital, and one that has hindered Edmonton from being a preferred destination for potential free agents and trade acquisitions.
It also couldn’t be further from the truth. Edmonton is far from the small, lifeless city that many paint it as. Ekholm says that he didn’t know much about the city before being traded here and thinks opposing players don’t get to see much of it when they visit during the season.
“I didn’t envision it to go this way, but it only took a couple of months, and we really enjoyed Edmonton as a city,” Ekholm said. “When you’re on the road side of things and you just come here for the colder months, it’s probably harder.
“You don’t know as much of the city. You tend to stay in the hotel, you go to do your dinner, and then you play the game.”
It makes sense why Ekholm would enjoy Edmonton, despite it getting pretty cold in the winter. The rearguard hails from Borlänge, Sweden, which is even further north than Edmonton and most likely has similar weather.
Ekholm’s family — his wife, Ida, and three kids, Leon, William, and Mya — also love the city. So much so that the Oilers defenceman plans on ending his career in Edmonton.
“I just wanted to retire in Edmonton, that’s the whole goal and purpose of this deal,” Ekholm said. “We’ll see at 39 if I got another year in me, but let’s start with this and see where it goes.”
He is coming off an up-and-down season with the Oilers that was plagued by injury troubles in the latter half. Ekholm was limited to just seven playoff games last season and was not at his best in the Stanley Cup Final.
As the new season arrives, the hope is that he can string together a healthy year and get back to the high level that Oilers fans are used to seeing from him.