Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Ekman-Larsson was selected sixth overall by Phoenix in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. On 24 May 2010, it was announced the Coyotes had signed Ekman-Larsson to an entry-level contract.[2] In the season following his draft selection, Ekman-Larsson produced the second most points among junior players in the Allsvenskan,[3] despite missing several games while competing in the 2010 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships for Sweden.

Ekman-Larsson recorded his first career NHL point through an assist on a Kyle Turris goal on 23 October 2010.[4] He scored his first career NHL goal on 17 January 2011, against goaltender Antti Niemi of the San Jose Sharks.[5]

Ekman-Larsson (right foreground) during a game against the Vancouver Canucks, February 2012

For the duration of the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Ekman-Larsson (on the last year of his entry-level contract) was assigned to Phoenix's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Portland Pirates.

On 6 March 2014, Ekman-Larsson scored his 100th NHL career point in a 5–2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens. With Ekman-Larsson's contribution, it was the first time since 9 December 1998 the Coyotes had defeated Montreal.[6] At the conclusion of the 2013–14 season, Ekman-Larsson finished seventh in balloting for the James Norris Memorial Trophy, awarded annually to the NHL's top defenceman during the regular season. His votes included three first-place votes, one second-place vote and two third-place votes.[7] On 16 December 2014, during the 2014–15 season, Ekman-Larsson tied the Coyotes' franchise record for overtime-winning goals by a player in a single season after scoring his third of the season with 0.03 seconds left in overtime in a 2–1 win over the Edmonton Oilers.[8] Ekman-Larsson represented Arizona in the 2015 NHL All-Star Game, assisting on a goal by Bobby Ryan.[9] Ekman-Larsson finished the 2014–15 season with 23 goals and 20 assists. With this career milestone, Ekman-Larsson broke Nicklas Lidström's NHL record, becoming the first Swedish-born defenceman in NHL history to score more than 20 goals in one season.[10] Ekman-Larsson's 23 goals were the most scored by an NHL defenceman that season and tied Phil Housley's franchise record for most goals scored by a defenceman in a season.[11]

On 29 January 2015, during a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ekman-Larsson scored the fastest shorthanded goal to start a period in NHL history, against Jonathan Bernier five seconds into the third period.[12] On 19 December 2015, during a game against the New York Islanders, Ekman-Larsson scored the lone goal of the game, which proved to be the game-winning goal. With this goal, Ekman-Larsson surpassed Teppo Numminen's franchise record for the most game-winning goals by a defenceman with the 20th in his career.[13] On January 12, 2016, Ekman-Larsson assisted on all three goals of rookie Max Domi's first career hat-trick, and would later go on to set a career-high four-point night by scoring the overtime-winning goal against the Edmonton Oilers.[14] On March 24, 2016, Ekman-Larsson inadvertently scored the game-winning goal in a 3–1 win over the Dallas Stars. Initially credited to teammate Martin Hanzal, after further review the goal was shown to bounce off a Dallas player and into the net. With this game-winning goal, Ekman-Larsson set an NHL record for the most game-winning goals by a defenceman in a single season with eight, surpassing Tim Horton, Al MacInnis, Ray Bourque, Derek Morris and Dion Phaneuf.[15] He became just the second defenceman in franchise history to record 20 or more goals in consecutive seasons, after Phil Housley.[16] Ekman-Larsson finished the 2015–16 season ninth in balloting for the James Norris Memorial Trophy.[17]

In the 2016–17 season, on 18 March 2017, during a game against the Nashville Predators, Ekman-Larsson scored his 40th career powerplay goal (against Pekka Rinne), tying Fredrik Olausson for the most by a defenceman in Arizona Coyotes/Winnipeg Jets history.[18] On 3 April 2017, with the Coyotes out of playoff contention, Ekman-Larsson was granted a leave of absence for the remaining three regular seasons games in order to return to his native Sweden due to the death of his mother, following a prolonged battle with cancer.[19]

On 14 October 2017, in a game against the Boston Bruins, Ekman-Larsson scored his first powerplay goal of the season against Anton Khudobin and moved ahead of Fredrik Olausson for the franchise record for powerplay goals scored by a defenceman with his 41st.[20] On 10 January 2018, Ekman-Larsson was selected as the lone Coyotes representative at the 2018 NHL All-Star Game.[21] On 10 March, Ekman-Larsson was fined $5,000 for slashing Sven Andrighetto.[22] After the regular season concluded and the Coyotes again failed to make the playoffs, Ekman-Larsson was nominated for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, awarded to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and gives back to his community.[23] On 1 July 2018, Ekman-Larsson signed an eight-year, $66 million contract extension with the Coyotes; he was set to become a free agent the following season.[24] He was later named captain of the Coyotes.[25]