One of the bright spots for the Toronto Maple Leafs has been Oliver Ekman-Larsson. In four games this season, he has racked up a goal and two assists for three points. All of these points came in the Leafs ' 7-4 victory over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday, October 14th. This performance earned him the second star. It's the type of performance we were used to seeing from vintage Ekman-Larsson.
Going into this season, not much was expected of Ekman-Larsson. He was entering his age-34 season and had seen his point production drop over the past few seasons. A death blow to any offensive defenseman. But if he can play the way he did against the Predators consistently, it’ll be a massive boost to the Leafs.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson can make the Leafs offense lethal
As mentioned earlier, Ekman-Larrson is no longer the player he was at the start of his career. Last season in 77 games, he tallied four goals and 25 assists for 29 points, some of the worst totals of his career. It's a far cry from the 45-50-point player we saw when he was with the Coyotes and Canucks. His metrics weren't much better, as according to Natural Stat Trick, he had an xGF of 55.69 and a GF percentage of 54.05.
To make matters worse, his defense started to slip, too. He posted an xGA of 58.98, which was the worst mark since the 2021-22 season. Now, Ekman-Larsson was never known for his defensive prowess, but his strong offensive play made up for it. When it looked like he could no longer produce offensively, questions grew about whether he should be in the lineup consistently.
However, if Ekman-Larsson can look more like the player he was early in his career, he'll be a staple in the lineup. Not only that, but he could help the Leafs' offensive woes. While it's only been four games, the Leafs have yet to find consistency in their offensive attack. They look good against the Canadiens and Predators, but the Predators' game was against a backup goalie. They also struggled in their two games against the Red Wings.
These struggles should not come as much of a surprise, considering the roster turnover the Leafs did in the offseason. It'll take time for the new players and line combinations to get comfortable and gain chemistry. If Ekman-Larsson can get hot offensively, it can help the offense gain more consistency and mask some of the growing pains the Leafs are going through.
This will also give more depth to the power play. There is no question that the Leafs' top power-play unit will be effective, as it was one of the best in the league last season. However, the second unit has several unknowns. If Ekman-Larsson can generate offense, it'll give the unit the kick-start it needs and bring the Leafs' power-play back to the top-ten unit it's been.
While fans should not get ahead of themselves after one game, it was a very promising sign. When the season is over Ekman-Larsson could be one of the unsung heroes.