Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Conor Garland were traded to the Vancouver Canucks by the Arizona Coyotes on Friday for the No. 9 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft and forwards Loui Eriksson, Jay Beagle and Antoine Roussel.
Arizona also received a second-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft and a seventh-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.
The Coyotes did not have a 2021 first-round selection after they forfeited the No. 11 pick for violating the NHL Combine Testing Policy during the 2019-20 season.
Ekman-Larsson, a 30-year-old defenseman, has six seasons left on the eight-year, $66 million contract ($8.25 million average annual value) he signed with Arizona on July 1, 2018. He was captain the past three seasons.
It was reported Oct. 5, 2020, that Ekman-Larsson had a self-imposed deadline of Oct. 9 for the Coyotes to trade him, and the Canucks and Boston Bruins were on his list of teams he would play for. Ekman-Larsson, who had a no-move clause in his contract, told Swedish website Hockeysverige.se on Oct. 28 that he neither requested a trade nor wanted to leave Arizona.
Ekman-Larsson then scored 24 points (three goals, 21 assists) in 46 games for the Coyotes this season. Selected by Arizona with the No. 6 pick of the 2009 NHL Draft, he has scored 388 points (128 goals, 260 assists) in 769 regular-season NHL games and eight points (two goals, six assists) in 25 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
"Yeah, it's been crazy, but I'm super excited to be in Vancouver and super excited [with] what's ahead of us," Ekman-Larsson said Saturday. "It's a little bit of a relief, too. We've been talking about this for a year now and kind of felt that we were running out of time last year. But at the same time I'm happy. I'm super excited about of the kind of new start and the fresh start with Vancouver.
"I always liked playing in Vancouver and really liked the group of guys that we have here. So I'm super excited about that and hopefully I'll be able to help out the young guys."
The Coyotes will retain 12 percent of Ekman-Larsson's salary.
"Besides what he'll do on the ice for us -- he'll be a top-pairing guy, can play a lot of minutes, [power play and penalty kill], can be a matchup guy playing against the other teams' top lines -- he's going to be a good mentor for our young players, because he was a high draft pick, he's gone through it," Vancouver general manager Jim Benning said. "And so I think overall what he's going to bring to our whole team is going to be immense as far as in the dressing room to help mentor our young players, and what he does on the ice.
"The hard part for me, obviously, was trading the ninth pick overall," Benning said, "but I just feel like our team needs to take the next step, and adding a top-pairing defenseman and a top-six forward is something that we talked about was on our wish list to start off. So to be able to do that, plus get rid of some contracts, I'm happy we got the deal done."
Ekman-Larsson said he is anticipating an adjustment playing for a different team for the first time in his NHL career.
"I think Arizona since Day One has been great," he said. "The fans are unbelievable there and that's one thing that I'm going to miss a lot. But at the same time I feel like Vancouver, it's a couple levels up and I'm super excited to be in that kind of market and be on a really good and young team. ... So it's going to be different, but at the same time I think it's going to take some time to get used to.
"It feels a little bit weird at the same time. I've been in Arizona for 11 years and I put my heart and soul into that organization and I'm proud for what I did there, but I'm ready to move on and excited to help Vancouver out."
Garland, a 25-year-old forward, scored 39 points (12 goals, 27 assists) in 49 games for the Coyotes this season. He can become a restricted free agent July 28.
"I think both of us are just coming in to try to help them get over the top," Garland said. "[Ekman-Larsson is] a great defenseman. He's a great puck-mover. He shoots the puck really well, easy guy to play with when you're out on the ice. And for me, I just like to go out there and compete and play hard. I have a knack for offense. I've kind of always been able to put up points and just want to come in there and play my game and play hard and let that stuff take care of itself."
Selected by Arizona in the fifth round (No. 123) of the 2015 NHL Draft, Garland has scored 96 points (47 goals, 49 assists) in 164 regular-season NHL games and two points (one goal, one assist) in eight playoff games.
Vancouver (23-29-4) finished last in the seven-team Scotia North Division this season, missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the fifth time in six seasons.
Arizona chose forward Dylan Guenther from Edmonton of the Western Hockey League with the No. 9 pick it acquired in the trade.
"I think it was nice to hear out of [coach Andre Tourigny's] mouth that, 'Hey, this guy's the guy,'" Coyotes GM Bill Armstrong said. "He was dancing on the table when we took him, so 'Bear' was really excited about that. He's very familiar with the guy … ecstatic about getting him."
Beagle has one season remaining on the four-year, $12 million contract ($3 million average annual value) he signed with Vancouver on July 1, 2018. The 35-year-old scored five points (one goal, four assists) in 30 games this season.
Signed by the Washington Capitals as an undrafted free agent March 26, 2008, Beagle has scored 142 points (57 goals, 85 assists) in 613 regular-season games with the Capitals and Canucks, and 21 points (nine goals, 12 assists) in 102 NHL playoff games. He won the Stanley Cup with Washington in 2018.
Roussel has one season remaining on the four-year contract he signed with Vancouver on July 1, 2018. The 31-year-old scored four points (one goal, three assists) in 35 games this season.
Signed by the Dallas Stars as an undrafted free agent July 2, 2012, Roussel has scored 189 points (81 goals, 108 assists) in 554 regular-season games with the Stars and Canucks, and nine points (four goals, five assists) in 36 NHL playoff games.
Eriksson has one season remaining on the six-year, $36 million contract ($6 million average annual value) he signed with Vancouver on July 1, 2016. The 36-year-old had one assist in seven games this season.
Selected by Dallas in the second round (No. 33) of the 2003 NHL Draft, Eriksson has scored 594 points (250 goals, 344 assists) in 977 regular-season games with the Stars, Bruins and Canucks, and 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in 44 NHL playoff games.
"On behalf of the entire organization, I would like to thank Oliver for everything that he has done for the Coyotes the past 10 years," Armstrong said. "He is a tremendous player and person, and we wish him and Conor the best of luck in the future.
"We are very pleased to acquire the ninth overall draft choice in this year's NHL Draft along with Loui, Antoine and Jay. ... They are all solid veterans who will provide us with great leadership and experience."
Arizona (24-26-6) finished fifth in the Honda West Divison this season and missed the playoffs for the eighth time in nine seasons. Tourigny was hired July 1 after it was announced May 9 that Rick Tocchet would not return as coach after four seasons.
The Coyotes acquired defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, a second-round pick in the 2022 draft and a seventh-round pick in 2022 from the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday for future considerations.
On July 17, Arizona acquired forward Andrew Ladd, a second-round pick (No. 60) in the 2021 draft, a second-round pick in the 2022 draft and a conditional third-round pick in the 2023 draft from the New York Islanders, and goalie Josef Korenar and a second-round pick in 2022 from the San Jose Sharks for goalie Adin Hill.
"As soon the season was over, we kind of figured out that with the flat [NHL salary] cap (of $81.5 million) happening that we might have a chance to acquire some picks, because of the amount of players leaving our team and us having the ability to take in some money from other teams, but I didn't think it would work quite that well," Armstrong said. "I thought it would generate maybe one deal, but we were able to generate a tremendous amount of picks, which as an organization we truly need, without really giving up that many good players, so it's been a huge two weeks for us."
NHL.com staff writer Tom Gulitti and NHL.com independent correspondents Alan Robinson and Kevin Woodley contributed to this report
