The OEL trade: the worst trade in Canucks history

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The leadup to the 2021 NHL Entry Draft was unique for a few reasons. All 31 teams had to prepare for an expansion draft, as the league’s 32nd team, the Seattle Kraken, got to pick one unprotected player from each team.

That lead to several trades in the wake of the expansion draft, which saw players like Ryan Ellis, Jason Dickinson, and Barclay Goodrow all be moved, due to their teams not wanting to lose them for nothing.

After that, the NHL Entry Draft was only a handful of days away, and many teams were looking to trade their picks for pieces that could help them win now.

The Flyers traded their first rounder and Robert Hagg for defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, and the Chicago Blackhawks traded a plethora of futures to acquire defenseman Seth Jones from the Columbus Blue Jackets, and immediately signed him to an 8-year extension.

Both trades have aged like milk, especially for Chicago. But what if I told you that there was a trade that was somehow worse than those two?

Leave it to Jim Benning’s regime to somehow make the worst trade in a day of many awful trades.

In between the Ristolainen and Jones trades, the Vancouver Canucks traded for Arizona Coyotes defenseman, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and winger Conor Garland, in exchange for three bad contracts and multiple draft picks, including Vancouver’s first round pick that year (9th overall).

The Canucks had been linked to Ekman-Larsson just a year prior to the trade, and once more rumours popped up before the draft, it seemed imminent.

The trade was bad when it happened, but many were optimistic that OEL could find his form again in Vancouver. Oh, and getting Conor Garland in this deal, at the time, was pretty sweet, and they signed him to a 5-year deal just a few days after the trade.

Ekman-Larsson and Garland’s first season in Vancouver was actually a pretty solid success for them. Although he didn’t put up the points that he used to, OEL rebounded big time defensively. His defensive metrics were miles better than previous seasons.

Conor Garland recorded 52 points in 77 games, with 47 of them coming at 5v5, making him one of the best 5v5 point producers in the entire NHL. That is an extremely valuable asset to have on your team.

Unfortunately, both players had a disappointing 2022-23 season.

Garland only tallied 46 points in 81 games, and Ekman-Larsson returned to his defensively irresponsible ways.

When you pay two players over $12 million per year combined, you need more, and especially from OEL who makes over $7.2 million per season. The problem is that you probably won’t be getting more.

The trade has already aged horribly, and it’s only going to get worse.

Buckle up, Canucks fans, these next 4+ years may be long.

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