Vancouver Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau admitted Oliver Ekman-Larson could be healthy for the team’s game Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Asked about reports that the 31-year-old defender may sit in front of the eastern champions, Boudreau replied: “Maybe it is true.”
Although aware of the potential, Boudreau did not give up.
“Look, we have to finish off some guys,” Boudreau said. ” I suspect [Ekman-Larsson] It could be better, but I think there are a lot of guys who could be better. Now it comes to accountability. It’s a lot of things, so it’s not something you want to do. He is arguably our best defender but sometimes you have to do what you think is best for the team at the time and that seems to be where I am. »
A native of Karlskrona, Sweden, Ekman Larsson is in his 13th season in the NHL and his second with the Canucks. In 40 games this season, Aikman-Larson has 1 goal and 17 assists, an average of 20:28 ice time per night and Corsi-for-45.2.
He is in the fourth year of an eight-year, $66 million deal with the Arizona Coyotes that includes a complete no-move clause.
Back-to-back losers, the Canucks are 12th in the Western Conference with 37 points and trail the Edmonton Oilers by 10 points to claim last place in the tournament with three games in hand.
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