Oliver Ekman-Larsson is still with the Toronto Maple Leafs as the NHL trade deadline approaches.
The reason why might be a sky-high asking price.
According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, the Maple Leafs want a first-round pick, a second-round pick and a prospect in return for Ekman-Larsson.
OEL is a good defenseman, but he’s also 34 years old and hasn’t had his best season ever.
That price might simply be too much.
One team said to be in on Ekman-Larsson all along was the Edmonton Oilers. They likely wouldn’t pay that much, though, according to Dreger.
And once you start removing teams due to a big asking price, it gets harder to create the bidding war that could get you there in the first place.
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The thing about Ekman-Larsson, in this case, is that he’s not on an expiring contract. If the Leafs keep him, they have him for next season.
That means they don’t have great incentive to lower the cost too much. He’s the kind of player they’d want on their roster for next season’s hoped-for turnaround.
So maybe that means there won’t be a lot of compromise on Friday.
If a team isn’t willing to meet Toronto’s asking price, Ekman-Larsson might not go anywhere.
But there’s still at least a little bit of time for that to change.