Trades keep piling up around 2021 NHL Draft weekend; the Canucks and Coyotes may have combined for the most jaw-dropping trade yet.* The simplest explanation is that the Canucks traded for Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Conor Garland, while the Coyotes continued to stockpile futures by using excess cap space.
From here, it seems like another big win for the Coyotes, who also landed draft picks to take on Shayne Gostisbehere.
* - Well, it was.
Canucks trade for Oliver Ekman-Larsson (OEL), Garland; Coyotes land draft picks
Here are the full details of that resounding OEL trade between the Canucks and Coyotes.
Canucks receive: Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Conor Garland.
Coyotes receive: Loui Eriksson, Antoine Roussel, Jay Beagle, the ninth pick of the 2021 NHL Draft, a 2022 second-round pick, and a seventh-rounder in 2023.
Another way to quickly summarize the OEL trade is to say that the Canucks are in win-now mode with Ekman-Larsson, while the Coyotes are focused squarely on the future.
ARI/VAN cap hit details:#Canucks clear $4.74M this season#Canucks take on $7.26M for the remaining 6 years of OEL's contract (and the value they sign Garland to)https://t.co/P7rR5cl7aR
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) July 23, 2021
Crucially, Roussel, Eriksson, and Beagle all see their cap hits expire after next season. Meanwhile, Garland will need a new contract, so it’s difficult to totally summarize the money savings for the Canucks.
More to come ...
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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.