Oliver Ekman-Larsson forced to change his number due to John Tavares

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Cameron Brown
September 16, 2024 (8:45 PM)

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Oliver Ekman-Larsson wore #91 last year as a member of the Stanley Cup winning Florida Panthers, but he has chosen a new number with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The reason why Ekman-Larsson had to choose a new number when he came to Toronto is because former Maple Leafs captain John Tavares has that number locked down, and has for his entire NHL career.

Ekman-Larsson has decided to wear the number 95 with the Leafs over the next few seasons, stating his brother as the main reason he chose to go that route.

"My brother is born '95, 1995. So I went with that," Ekman-Larsson said on Monday morning at the Maple Leafs' annual charity golf tournament in Milton, Ontario.

Ekman-Larsson was never going to ask Tavares to change his number, so this gesture by him to his brother is one I'm sure he appreciates very much.

Ekman-Larsson was drafted sixth overall all the way back in 2009 by the Phoenix Coyotes, where he would play excellent hockey, even putting up multiple 20 goal seasons as a defenseman in an era where it was not very common to do so.

His career in Arizona ended when he was traded to Vancouver in July of 2021 for a package that included the 9th overall pick, which turned out to be World Junior hero Dylan Guenther, a trade Vancouver is probably regretting making.

OEL was eventually bought out by the Canucks in 2023 and signed a 1 year deal with the Florida Panthers, where he was a key part of a Stanley Cup winning team.

Ekman-Larsson has been a member of the Leafs for quite some time now, and has even begun skating with his new teammates. The veteran defenseman seems very excited to join the Leafs and thinks good things are coming.

"It's just fun to be here and skating with the guys. And you know a lot from playing against everybody," Ekman-Larsson said. "But just nice to see what they do on every single day, how hard they work. And yeah, I think we have an unbelievable group."

Source: Hockey Patrol
John Tavares forces new Leafs defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson to change his number