The Vancouver Canucks bought out the remaining four years of defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s contract on Friday.

Ekman-Larsson, who turns 32 in July, will be an unrestricted free agent.

“We would like to thank Oliver for the time he spent in Vancouver,” Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said in a release. “The business of hockey is very complex and tough decisions have to be made if you want to remain competitive. Buying out Oliver gives us a lot more flexibility and cap space the next couple of years and significantly reduces his hit in the subsequent seasons.

“It is our expectation that following this year, the cap will also raise considerably making this the right time to execute this buyout. Our organization is committed to do whatever it needs to do to improve, get better on and off the ice, and move forward in a positive direction.”

According to the team, the buyout will span eight years at a cost of $19,333,333 to the Canucks and a savings of $9,666,667.

The Canucks acquired Ekman-Larsson in a blockbuster trade with the Arizona Coyotes before the 2021-22 season. The Coyotes’ captain at the time had to waive his no-trade clause to agree to the move.

But after two seasons in Vancouver, Ekman-Larsson had tallied just 51 points (seven goals, 44 assists) for his new team. In 2022-23 he had two goals and 20 assists while playing to a minus-24 rating over 54 games.

Ekman-Larsson suffered a broken foot playing for his native Sweden at the world championships. He tried to push through it but his performance suffered, and a sprained ankle suffered Feb. 15 prematurely ended his season.

A two-time All-Star, Ekman-Larsson has 439 points (135 goals, 304 assists) over 902 career games with the Coyotes (2010-21) and Canucks (2021-23). He was the sixth overall pick of the 2009 draft.

–Field Level Media