Shore gives up jersey number for new Oilers teammate Ekholm

Mar 1 2023, 8:19 pm

Mattias Ekholm is keeping a familiar number with the Edmonton Oilers, thanks to a new teammate.

On Wednesday, the Oilers announced that their latest blue-line acquisition will wear the No. 14 jersey as Devin Shore switches to No. 19 for the remainder of the season.

Edmonton added Ekholm on Tuesday, shipping defenceman Tyson Barrie, forward Reid Schaefer, a 2023 first-round pick, and a fourth-round selection in 2024 to Nashville in hopes of reinvigorating their playoff push.

The 32-year-old Ekholm is in his 12th NHL season and made his debut with Nashville’s No. 42 jersey in 2011-12 before switching to No. 14 in the 2014-15 season. The switch came in the first year of a new contract, as he took on the number to match the number he played with in Sweden.

“I was wearing the No. 14 when I won the championship with my team in Sweden, and I wore it at the World Championships, where I played pretty well,” Ekholm said at the time.

“So it’s just been a number that’s been following me. The 42 number that I had was more of a given number that I got when I first got here. So there was no story behind it, and 14 is more meaningful.”

With the Oilers, he inherits a sweater once previously won by 15 others, including Raffi Torres, Craig McTavish, and Jordan Eberle.

Ekholm is in the first season of a four-year contract with an annual average value of $6.25 million. However, Nashville retained four per cent of his salary.

According to The Athletic’s Daniel Daniel Nugent-Bowman, Ekholm will make his Oilers debut alongside Evan Bouchard on Wednesday night when Edmonton hosts the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Facing the Maple Leafs won’t be an easy debut for Ekholm in his new surroundings, but the matchup throws him right into the fire against some of the NHL’s top players.

“Edmonton is one of the top teams in the league, has some top offensive skill on their team if not the best,” Ekholm said Tuesday. “For me to come in and join, hopefully, I can contribute with my way and my style and the defensive side of things. First and foremost, just super excited to come there.”

Ben SteinerBen Steiner

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