Analyzing Ekman-Larsson's weird year of superb defence but no offence on Canucks blue line

Jan 18 2022, 6:40 pm

He was one of the greatest goal-scoring defenders of his generation.

So, the question is, what happened to Oliver Ekman-Larsson?

From his rookie season in 2010-11 to the end of the pandemic shortened 2019-20 season. Ekman-Larsson scored 125 goals.

That was the fourth-most among all blueliners in hockey during that time period.

The Swedish defender also ranked 17th with 364 points over those 10 seasons, averaging 14 goals and 41 points per season.

Simply put, those are the offensive numbers of a top-pairing defenceman.

However, during the last two seasons, Ekman-Larsson’s play admittedly tailed off.

“It comes down to playing good hockey, and I havenā€™t been able to do that lately,” Ekman-Larsson told the media back in July.

“When rumours start and people start talking about trades and stuff. Iā€™m the first to admit I havenā€™t been good enough.”

Even though he struggled over the last two seasons, Ekman-Larsson still averaged eight goals and 39 points over a full 82 games.

That’s what makes Ekman-Larsson’s lack of offence this season so baffling.

The 30-year-old currently has two goals and seven points in 35 games. He’s on pace for a career-worst four goals and 16 points.

Those are bafflingly-low offensive outputs for a defender who isn’t that far removed from his prime.

So the question remains, what happened to Ekman-Larsson?

Decreased power play usage doesn’t tell entire story

It’s easy to conclude that a major reason why Ekman-Larsson’s production has dropped off is that he no longer occupies a spot on PP1.

That narrative isn’t totally true.

During Ekman-Larsson’s last two seasons in Arizona, he slowly conceded power play time to Jakob Chychrun. Still, he led Coyotes defenders with an average 2:24 per game at 5-on-4.

This season with the Canucks, that average had dipped to 1:56. However, the gap between OEL and Quinn Hughes is sizeable, with the young Canucks phenom averaging 3:26 per game.

Despite the lack of ice time, Ekman-Larsson has already matched his goal total on the power play from last season and the season before.

The former Coyotes captain registered two goals at 5-on-4 in each of the last two seasons. This year, both of his tallies on the season have come with the man advantage.

His 2.76 points-per-60 on the power play is slightly below his career average. For his career, Ekman-Larsson has registered 3.3 points-per-60 on the power play.

Transforming into shutdown defender

You had to have known that Ekman-Larsson’s role was going to shift once he joined the Canucks.

The dynamic of Vancouver’s blue line was much different than Arizona’s, thanks to the presence of Hughes.

Still, I don’t think many predicted that the 12-year veteran would transform into an elite shutdown defenceman with the Canucks.

With Hughes being the primary offensive driver from the back end at even-strength, Ekman-Larsson has turned into a defensive stalwart. He’s currently at a career-low for offensive zone starts (44.7%) and a career-high for defensive zone starts (55.3%).

Consider this. Even though Ekman-Larsson is consistently facing the opposition’s best forwards on a nightly basis, his goals-against-per-60 at even strength is a minuscule 1.18.

Among NHL blueliners to play more than 250 minutes at 5-on-5, that total is second-best in the NHL. The only defender who ranks better is Ekman-Larsson’s teammate, Luke Schenn (0.95/60).

Over 612 minutes of even-strength hockey, Ekman-Larsson has been on the ice for 12 goals against. That’s fewer than teammate Brad Hunt, who’s been on the ice for 13 goals in 139 minutes at even strength.

Bad luck playing into lack of even-strength offence

Based on expected goals, Ekman-Larsson has been lucky not to be on the ice for a few more tallies against.

His expected goals against of 2.36 is exactly double his actual goals-against total of 1.18.

On the flip side, his expected goals-for of 2.64 total suggests he’s been unlucky. Ekman-Larsson’s actual goals-for total at 5-on-5 is currently 1.76.

At even strength, Ekman-Larsson is actually firing the puck on net with regularity. His 6.96 shots-per-60 at 5-on-5 is a career-best rate. He’s also registering 3.3 individual scoring chances per 60, the third-best even-strength mark during his 12-year career.

This all suggests that Ekman-Larsson has been unlucky not to be on the ice for a few more goals scored.

Still, the fact is that the Swedish defenceman currently has a career-worst 0.39 points-per-60 at even-strength.

While his defensive contributions have been massive, $7.26 million is a lot of money to be paying a defenceman who doesn’t produce much on offence.

There is still time for things to change under new head coach Bruce Boudreau, who recently said on Sekeres and Price that he expects to see some slight changes in Ekman-Larsson’s game.

“I want Ekman-Larsson to be a bit more like he was in Arizona four years ago,” Bruce said during the interview.

“It’s not like I’ve sat there and said listen, I want you to sacrifice your defensive game for your offensive game. That’s not what I want. I think they [Ekman-Larsson and Tyler Myers] could do both. I think they could be a little more aggressive offensively.”

Trevor BeggsTrevor Beggs

+ Offside
+ Hockey
+ Canucks
ADVERTISEMENT