Ekman-Larsson is intriguing free agent target for Bruins amid salary c…

Should the Boston Bruins pursue Oliver Ekman-Larsson?

If this question sounds familiar, that’s because we debated/discussed the topic quite a bit in 2020 and 2021 when the then-Arizona Coyotes defenseman’s name was often the subject of trade rumors.

Ekman-Larsson’s agent revealed in October of 2020 that the two teams his client would accept a trade to join were the Bruins and the Vancouver Canucks. The Swedish blueliner — and his massive eight-year, $66 million contract — was ultimately dealt to the Canucks in July of 2021.

OEL’s tenure in Vancouver was short lived, to say the least. He did not live up to expectations in two seasons for the Canucks, and they bought out the remaining four years of his contract last week in an expensive move and one that makes Ekman-Larsson an unrestricted free agent. Vancouver will be paying Ekman-Larsson until 2031 as a result of the buyout

Now that Ekman-Larsson is available again and he doesn’t carry an $8.25 million salary cap hit, we’ll circle back to our original question: Should the Bruins pursue him?

The short answer is yes, but it should only be considered under the right circumstances.

A one-year prove-it-to-me type of contract for low money would make Ekman-Larsson a worthy investment for the Bruins. He should be plenty motivated to prove he’s still a quality defenseman, and going to a well-structured, strong defensive team like the B’s is the ideal place for him to revive his career. Another potentially enticing aspect about the B’s for Ekman-Larsson is the fact that several of their defensemen posted career highs in scoring (or close to it) during head coach Jim Montgomery’s first year behind the bench. His uptempo style of play that encourages defensemen to get involved in the attack suits OEL’s offensive-minded skill set.

What are the odds this actually happens?

Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman discussed this topic on Monday’s episode of the “32 Thoughts” podcast. Here’s how that exchange unfolded:

Marek:…