John Tavares successfully forces Oliver Ekman-Larsson to change numbers

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Axel Williams
September 16, 2024 (5:18 PM)

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Oliver Ekman-Larsson wore the number 91 with the Flordia Panthers last season, but that conflicts with the number worn by alternate captain, John Tavares.

According to The Hockey News, Ekman-Larsson has agreed to change his number to 95. Why? You may ask? Well, he is simply honoring his brother, who is also a hockey player.

"My brother is born '95, 1995. So I went with that."

Ekman-Larsson also spoke about his training with the team and how he feels so far being with a new squad. As you can imagine, there is a lot of excitement right now. He just went from a Stanley Cup winner to a Stanley Cup contender. Now, he can use that experience to guide the team.

"It's just fun to be here and skating with the guys. And you know a lot from playing against everybody," Ekman-Larsson said. "But just nice to see what they do on every single day, how hard they work. And yeah, I think we have an unbelievable group."

Only time will tell whether or not Ekman-Larsson properly fits in with this Toronto Maple Leafs system. Everything we know so far says that he will. However, you never know until the product is finally on the ice.

Do you agree with the Leafs' decision to take the captaincy away from Tavares? Let us know in the poll down below and stay tuned to Hockey Unplugged for the latest news and updates from around the hockey world.

Source: The Hockey News
Maple Leafs Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson Reveals Reason Behind New Number with Toronto