It's happening.
Per Elliotte Friedman, the Vancouver Canucks are buying out Oliver Ekman-Larsson this afternoon (June 16). With this move, the Canucks will free up $7.1 million of cap space for the 2023-24 season (OEL will carry a $147,000 cap hit for the year).
Here is a complete look at how the buyout will impact the Canucks' salary cap over the next eight years.
Year 1:$147K cap hit ($7.1 million savings) Year 2: $2.35 million cap hit ($4.9 million savings) Year 3 & 4: $4.77 million cap hit ($2.5 million savings) Year 5-8: $2.13 million cap hit & cost
With this move, the Canucks now have cap space to work with to make some additions in free agency this summer. They also save money for years 2-4 by having him off of their roster but will feel the negative impact of the buyout for years 5-8.
An OEL buyout was certainly in the cards given his struggles, injury trouble, and massive contract. Now, it is officially coming to fruition. In 133 games as a Canuck over two seasons, OEL had seven goals, 44 assists, 51 points, and a minus-19 rating.