TORONTO — Oliver Ekman-Larsson smiled and politely dodged the question.
Chris Tanev inferred his fellow Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman would be back.
Head coach Craig Berube then confirmed the team would have a blue-line corps at full strength for Game 1 of the playoffs.
Ekman-Larsson is set to suit up in Toronto's opener Sunday night against the Ottawa Senators after missing the last four regular-season contests with an undisclosed injury.
"Competitiveness, experience, some veteran savvy, great person," Tanev said of what the Swede has brought to the locker room.
Ekman-Larsson signed with the Leafs in free agency after winning the Stanley Cup last June with the Florida Panthers.
"Just how hard it is to win," the 33-year-old said of his biggest takeaways from that run. "The first time for me to go all the way and just to see how much everybody has to put in the work and do the right things, day in and day out."
The best-of-seven matchup with Ottawa — the first playoff Battle of Ontario since Toronto beat its provincial rival four times from 2000 to 2004 — represents yet another opportunity for a talented Leafs roster that has just one series victory across a stretch of eight consecutive post-season appearances.
"It's not like we didn't have any setbacks," Ekman-Larsson, who had four goals and 25 assists across 77 games in 2024-25, said of Florida's four-round gauntlet last spring. "We had some games that we were not playing good. But we found ways to bounce back."
Berube, who won the Cup with the St. Louis Blues in 2019 and has been tasked with getting Toronto over its playoff hump, has used the veteran xefenceman in all situations this season.
"Been a very good player in this league for a long time," said the coach. "He's a type of guy that's very versatile, moving him around with different partners, playing the right side, power play, penalty kill. The kind of a guy that we really count on in different situations and in different roles.
"He's very accepting of it and handles it well."
Toronto will also get Jake McCabe back on defence in his usual spot alongside Tanev after he sat out eight games with an undisclosed injury of his own.
"Jake's been great all year," Tanev said. "We get along extremely well. We see the game very similarly. We're able to bounce thoughts off each other in real time and make adjustments.
"He personifies a lot of how we want to play. The leadership and mentality that he brings is extremely important."
The same goes for Ekman-Larsson.
"He's been amazing for the group," Tanev said. "We missed him when he was out. Happy to have him back."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 20, 2025.
Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press
