Maple Leafs' Ekman-Larsson Will Cost Premium As Team Poke Around

Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs sit six points out of a playoff spot in the East with four teams to jump to take a spot, but they had a win streak going into the break and they are close enough where a push and an appearance in the postseason is doable. Nothing drastic should necessarily be done just yet, but there are a handful of games prior to the trade deadline to determine exactly what the plan will be.

The Maple Leafs are very likely a team that will wait until the day before the trade deadline or the day of the trade deadline to do some deals unless they come out of the break losing every game. And the team could buy and sell, setting themselves up better for next season as well.

One player to really watch is Oliver Ekman-Larsson, but as he has another two years left on his deal, there's no urgency to move him. He has a cap hit of $3.5 million AAV, has a 16-team no-trade list, and has eight goals and 34 points in 57 games this season. It's safe to say his struggles on the Vancouver Canucks are over.

David Pagnotta said, "If somebody is willing to pay a premium, I think they'd consider it." He also said that "I think teams started poking around on OEL."

It makes a lot of sense that there is going to be interest in Ekman-Larsson with the season he's having and given that he has term left on a good deal. With the Maple Leafs possibly retooling even more after plenty of moves over the course of the last year that has gotten them to this point, many players could be on the table. Though OEL has outplayed Morgan Rielly, the latter has a much larger and harder to move contract when looking at who can be moved around for what returns or cap space.

It seems like it's going to be very tough to pull Ekman-Larsson away from the Maple Leafs, and rightfully so. And as a 34-year-old, I don't know how many teams will be willing to pay that premium to acquire him this season.