TORONTO – Oliver Ekman-Larsson was happy to wake up Saturday still a member of the Maple Leafs.

The veteran, Stanley Cup-winning defenceman was held out of two games by the woefully underperforming club ahead of the NHL trade deadline for “roster management purposes” as Toronto fielded offers for a player with two seasons remaining on his contract.

When the bell sounded at 3 p.m. ET Friday and general managers could make no more moves, the 34-year-old was relieved to still be sporting blue and white.

It’s also clear the last stretch weighed heavily on his mind.

“It’s hard, especially for me,” Ekman-Larsson said Saturday morning before the Maple Leafs faced the Tampa Bay Lightning at Scotiabank Arena. “I wanted to be here and we love it here … that makes it even harder.”

Asked if fences needed to be mended with an organization that signed him to a four-year, US$14-million deal in July 2024 after a title-winning campaign for the Florida Panthers, he smiled, shifted his body, and then chose the next words out of his mouth carefully.

“I don’t know,” Ekman-Larsson replied. “I was just, like I said, happy to still be here … that’s what I wanted, and that’s what my family wanted, so super excited about that. I still have a lot of belief in this organization and love being here. I was trying not to think about it too much.

“But it was pretty tough.”

The Maple Leafs (27-25-11), who sat eight points out of the final Eastern Conference playoff spot heading into Saturday and look poised to miss the annual Cup chase for the first time since 2016, have occupied a post-season spot for just 48 hours since Nov. 12, and own an ugly 4-10-4 record since topping the league-leading Colorado Avalanche in mid-January.

Ekman-Larsson was asked why he still believes in a roster that has painfully underperformed after making the second round of the playoffs — its ninth consecutive appearance in hockey’s annual spring dance — just over nine months ago.

“Still think that we can do something special,” said the Swede, who also represented his country at the Milan Cortina Olympics. “Hasn’t gone the way we wanted this year, but still like the pieces that we have.”

Toronto did wave goodbye to three forwards ahead of the deadline, with Nicolas Roy (Colorado), Bobby McMann (Seattle Kraken) and Scott Laughton (Los Angeles Kings) all shown the door in return for draft capital.

“It’s always tough,” said Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews, who has made the playoffs each of his nine NHL seasons. “Every year you’re gonna lose guys. Obviously, this year’s a little bit different. But you lost some great people, great teammates, great players.

“You just gotta keep pushing forward.”

The list of issues for Toronto in a campaign that is circling the drain has included an inability to endure injuries to key personnel, a sub-par power play despite loads of offensive talent, difficulty sticking to head coach Craig Berube’s style, a seeming lack of engagement for long stretches, and a defensive output that had allowed a league-worst 31.9 shots against per game.

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“You lay in the bed you make,” Matthews said. “But we can only control what’s in front of us right now, and that’s our attitude and our compete level.”

The Maple Leafs entered the Olympic break with three straight victories and hopes of making a push before a stunningly uninspired, disjointed 0-4-2 run in their return to action put what look to be the final few nails into their season.

“We’ve just had those swings too much,” Matthews said. “We’ll string together five, six, seven really good games and get on a good roll. And then vice versa, we’ll get on a bad swing of games … where it’s not going well or we’re disconnected. It’s always a roller-coaster throughout a season. No matter how good the team’s playing or no matter how good things are going, there’s always going to be ups and downs.

“Our swings have just been too high and then too low.”

Ekman-Larsson, who leads the defence corps with 35 points (eight goals, 27 assists) in 60 games, said it’s important Toronto sticks together despite the long odds.

“We’re not done yet,” he said. “We all are accountable for the situation that we’re in. We want to show that we can play better. We have a lot to play for — our fans, our teammates.”

A team and city Ekman-Larsson, despite a desperately disappointing season, remains happy to call home.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 7, 2026.

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