Oliver Ekman-Larsson finally fully recovered from pre season surgery

After an eight-year drought, Arizona will finally be playing playoff hockey again. To make it even more interesting for Coyotes fans, star defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson's knee is finally back to where he wants it to be.

2012 is the last time the Arizona Coyotes, or Phoenix Coyotes as they were called then, participated in the playoffs. In 2020 it's time again, and in an interview with NHL.com, Oliver Ekman-Larsson says he is finally 100 percent fit again, and ready to play: "I had a knee surgery right before the season started and didn't really get back to 100 percent," he said. "My knee is feeling 100 percent, and I've been able to get stronger, faster."

The Coyotes captain is excited about getting to play against Nashville, but talking about the injury now, he thinks there are things that could have been done differently: "Obviously, you want to be out there with the guys and battle. I don't like to be on the side and watch the guys battle without me, but I feel like (I) rushed it a little bit (returning to the lineup after the minor offseason surgery)... It's easy to sit here now and talk about it afterwards, but if I would have done it all over again, I might have given a little bit more time (before returning to the lineup)."

The 2009 6th overall pick managed to put up 30 points in 66 games this year, and with a healthy body he's likely looking to do even better.

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