Oliver Ekman-Larsson is happy to still be a Toronto Maple Leaf after the chaos of the NHL’s trade deadline subsided on Friday.

The 6-foot-2 blueliner had been a focus of the Maple Leafs’ trade talks leading up to the deadline, with him finishing at No. 10 on TSN’s Trade Bait Board.

After not being dealt at the deadline, Ekman-Larsson showed relief at the team’s morning skate prior to their game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday and he explained why he wanted to stay in Toronto.

“I still believe in this team and [I think] that we can do something special,” Ekman-Larsson said. “Like I said since Day 1, when the talk came out, I was very clear in what I wanted to do. I still like the pieces that we have and I still believe in this team.”

Oliver Ekman-Larsson says there’s relief for he and his family to still be in Toronto and expressed belief that the #leafs can turn things around next season.

But being sat out for a couple games while the team fielded trade offers clearly left a mark: “It was pretty tough.”

— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) March 7, 2026

After winning the Atlantic Division last year with a 52-26-4 record, Toronto has taken a major fall in the standings this season. They sit last in the division with a 27-15-11 record and are eight points back of the Boston Bruins for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference entering Saturday’s action.

The Maple Leafs have made the playoffs each of the last nine seasons and had internal and external expectations to continue that success this season, which hasn’t come to fruition.

“I wish I had the answer, but the bottom line is we’ve got to be better,” said Ekman-Larsson. “We knew that [the stretch before the deadline] were going to be big games for us. We didn’t make it easy on ourselves, that’s for sure.

“It’s hard to say [what went wrong] right now, but we need to have a better much push and show that.”

Ekman-Larsson sat out the team’s last two games while the Maple Leafs explored their options on the trade market.

Toronto ended up trading forwards Bobby McMann, Scott Laughton and Nicolas Roy prior to the deadline in exchange for a combined five draft choices. However, Ekman-Larsson says he has no ill will towards the organization despite obviously being shopped around.

”I was just happy to still be here, that’s what I wanted and that’s what my family wanted,” said Ekman-Larsson. “I was trying not to think about it too much, but at the same time it was pretty tough. Like I said, I still have a lot of belief in this organization and I love being here.”

Moving forward, Ekman-Larsson says that the team’s focus is on moving in the right direction and to start creating winning habits.

He believes the Maple Leafs still have a lot to play for with 19 games remaining in the regular season and wants to prove that they can be the team that won their division last season.

“We’re not done yet, and I think that’s the mindset right now,” said Ekman-Larsson. “It was obviously weird losing three good players and unbelievable guys that you’ve been battling with all year. It’s sad and it’s always tough to go through.

“We’re taking one game at a time and trying to get better. We’re all accountable for the situation that we’re in and that’s something we want to improve and show that we can play better. We had a good meeting today and we’re looking forward to get going and push in the right direction.”