“You never know,” he said. “Something will probably happen with the team there, but exactly what that is, I don’t know. Again, I’m not going to speculate on those kinds of things. The people sitting above me — John, Mats, and the rest of the organization — are the ones making those decisions. With everything else, all I can do is focus on being my best every day and hope that’s enough.”
This past season, Ekman-Larsson was a strong point for Toronto amidst a weak season defensively. Through 78 games played, he recorded eight goals and 31 assists for 38 points. It was his highest tally since the 2018-19 season with the Arizona Coyotes. Ekman-Larsson now has two years remaining on his four-year deal, with an annual cap hit of $3.5 million. Understanding his future is out of his control, he’s focused on himself for now.
“Things usually work themselves out one way or another,” he said. “There’s no point thinking too much about it, you just try to block it out. We’ll see what the summer brings, but regardless, I’m expecting to go back there.”
“I think the whole situation became even more unique because we were expecting a baby just two weeks later,” Ekman-Larsson said. “Obviously it’s tough when you enjoy being somewhere and want to stay somewhere, and then something like that comes up. But when a team is struggling and things aren’t going the way they’re expected to, changes usually happen. It’s never fun. It was something new for me to go through in the middle of a season. … I’ve been bought out before and I’ve been traded before. But this was different.”
Give us your thoughts, would you like to see Ekman-Larsson remain in a Leafs sweater, or see him moved this summer?
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