Is OEL a better fantasy own without Keith Yandle?

“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” William Shakespeare

“Does an Ekman-Larsson without a power play smell as sweet?” Doran Libin

Ekman-Larsson is currently the only 20 goal scorer on the Arizona Coyotes. 20 goals for a defenseman is impressive, let alone one who carries the defensive load for his team. Part of OEL's success was the nature of the dynamic power play duo he formed with Keith Yandle. That partnership came to an end when Yandle was traded to the Rangers as the Coyotes embarked on the beginning of their rebuild. The changes in Arizona will undoubtedly have an effect on OEL's production for the last two weeks of the season as well as down the road. Everyone knows what Ekman-Larsson was capable of in the last iteration of the Coyotes but that could change.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Ekman-Larsson's 21 goals thus far are all the more impressive given the nature of his usage by the Coyotes.  His even strength goal rate combined with his sub 45% offensive zone starts are reminiscent of Shea Weber circa 2008-2010. When Keith Yandle was on the team, the Coyotes used Ekman-Larsson with Zbynek Michalek in order to give Yandle sheltered offense-centric minutes. Now with Yandle and Michalek gone he still gets those tough defensive zone starts, maybe even to a greater degree as his offensive zone starts are down to 41% since March 1. An encouraging sign is that Klas Dahlbeck and Andrew Campbell are getting even fewer offensive zone starts. The difference is that OEL, now with Michael Stone, still gets the toughest competition.