Ekman-Larsson began his career at
Tingsryds AIF club of the
HockeyAllsvenskan during the 2007–08 season, recording eight points in 27 games. He continued his career with
Leksands IF, where he scored 44 points in two seasons in
2008–09 and
2009–10 in a total of 81 games. The 2009–10 season would be his last, as he would he drafted by the
National Hockey League's
Phoenix Coyotes.
Phoenix / Arizona Coyotes (2010–2021) in February 2012 Ekman-Larsson was selected sixth overall by Phoenix in the
2009 NHL entry draft. On 24 May 2010, it was announced the Coyotes had signed Ekman-Larsson to an entry-level contract. In the season following his draft selection, Ekman-Larsson produced the second-most points among junior players in the Allsvenskan, despite missing several games while competing in the
2010 World Junior Championships for
Sweden junior team. Ekman-Larsson recorded his first NHL point through an assist on a
Kyle Turris goal in a 4–3 overtime win against the
Carolina Hurricanes on 23 October 2010. He scored his first NHL goal on 17 January 2011, in a 4–2 loss to the
San Jose Sharks. Ekman-Larsson played all 82 games during the
2011–12 season recording 13 goals and 19 assists for 32 points as the Coyotes finished the regular season in third place in the
Western Conference. On 12 April 2012, Ekman-Larsson made his
Stanley Cup playoffs debut against the
Chicago Blackhawks as the Coyotes won the first game of the conference quarterfinals series 3–2 in overtime for a 1–0 series lead. Two days later, he then recorded his first NHL playoff assist and point on a goal by
Antoine Vermette as the Coyotes lost to the Blackhawks 4–3 to even the series. On 23 April, in the sixth game of the series, Ekman-Larsson recorded his first NHL playoff in a 4–0 win over the Blackhawks, which was also the first playoff series win in Coyotes franchise history. The Coyotes then defeated the fourth-seeded
Nashville Predators in five games in the conference semifinals before falling in five games to the eighth-seeded and eventual Stanley Cup champion
Los Angeles Kings in the conference finals. He ended the
2012 playoffs with a goal and three assists for four points in 16 games. in January 2014 For the duration of the
2012–13 NHL lockout, Ekman-Larsson, who was on the last year of his entry-level contract, was assigned to Phoenix's
American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the
Portland Pirates. After the lockout ended, he played all 48 games for the Coyotes in the shortened
2012–13 season as the Coyotes failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2009 and the first time in Ekman-Larsson's tenure. On 6 March 2014, Ekman-Larsson scored his 100th NHL point in a 5–2 victory over the
Montreal Canadiens. With Ekman-Larsson's contribution, it was the first time since 9 December 1998 the Coyotes had defeated Montreal. At the conclusion of the
2013–14 season, Ekman-Larsson finished seventh in balloting for the
James Norris Memorial Trophy, awarded annually to the NHL's top defenceman during the regular season. His votes included three first-place votes, one second-place vote and two third-place votes. On 16 December 2014, Ekman-Larsson tied the Coyotes' franchise record for overtime-winning goals by a player in a single season after scoring his third of the season with 0.03 seconds left in overtime in a 2–1 win over the
Edmonton Oilers. Ekman-Larsson represented Arizona in the
2015 NHL All-Star Game, assisting on a goal by
Bobby Ryan. On 29 January 2015, during a game against the
Toronto Maple Leafs, Ekman-Larsson scored the fastest shorthanded goal to start a period in NHL history, against
Jonathan Bernier five seconds into the third period. Ekman-Larsson finished the
2014–15 season with 23 goals and 20 assists. With this career milestone, Ekman-Larsson broke
Nicklas Lidström's NHL record, becoming the first Swedish-born defenceman in NHL history to score more than 20 goals in one season. Ekman-Larsson's 23 goals were the most scored by an NHL defenceman that season and tied
Phil Housley's franchise record for most goals scored by a defenceman in a season. On 19 December 2015, during a game against the
New York Islanders, Ekman-Larsson scored the lone goal of the game, which proved to be the game-winning goal. With this goal, Ekman-Larsson surpassed
Teppo Numminen's franchise record for the most game-winning goals by a defenceman with the 20th in his career. On 12 January 2016, Ekman-Larsson assisted on all three goals of rookie
Max Domi's first career
hat-trick, and would later go on to set a career-high four-point night by scoring the overtime-winning goal against the Edmonton Oilers. On 24 March, Ekman-Larsson inadvertently scored the game-winning goal in a 3–1 win over the
Dallas Stars. Initially credited to teammate
Martin Hanzal, after further review the goal was shown to bounce off a Dallas player and into the net. With this game-winning goal, Ekman-Larsson set an NHL record for the most game-winning goals by a defenceman in a single season with eight, surpassing
Tim Horton,
Al MacInnis,
Ray Bourque,
Derek Morris and
Dion Phaneuf. He became just the second defenceman in franchise history to record 20 or more goals in consecutive seasons, after Housley. Ekman-Larsson finished the
2015–16 season ninth in balloting for the James Norris Memorial Trophy. In the
2016–17 season, on 18 March 2017, during a game against the Nashville Predators, Ekman-Larsson scored his 40th career powerplay goal, tying
Fredrik Olausson for the most by a defenceman in
Winnipeg Jets/Arizona Coyotes history. On 3 April, with the Coyotes out of playoff contention, Ekman-Larsson was granted a leave of absence for the remaining three regular seasons games in order to return to his native Sweden due to the death of his mother, following a prolonged battle with cancer. On 14 October 2017, in a game against the
Boston Bruins, Ekman-Larsson scored his first powerplay goal of the season and moved ahead of Olausson for the franchise record for powerplay goals scored by a defenceman with his 41st. On 10 January 2018, Ekman-Larsson was selected as the lone Coyotes representative at the
2018 NHL All-Star Game. On 10 March, Ekman-Larsson was fined $5,000 for slashing
Sven Andrighetto. After the regular season concluded and the Coyotes again failed to make the playoffs, Ekman-Larsson was nominated for the
King Clancy Memorial Trophy, awarded to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and gives back to his community, ultimately ceding the award to both
Henrik and
Daniel Sedin of the
Vancouver Canucks. On 1 July 2018, Ekman-Larsson signed an eight-year, $66 million contract extension with the Coyotes; he was set to become a free agent the following season. He was later named captain of the Coyotes. Ekman-Larsson was the last captain of the Coyotes before the franchise became inactive in 2024.
Vancouver Canucks (2021–2023) On 23 July 2021, Ekman-Larsson waived his no-movement clause and was traded, along with
Conor Garland, to the
Vancouver Canucks in exchange for
Jay Beagle,
Loui Eriksson,
Antoine Roussel, a
2021 first-round pick (
Dylan Guenther), a
2022 second-round pick and a
2023 seventh-round pick. Arizona retained 12 percent of Ekman-Larsson's salary as part of the transaction. He scored his first goal as a Canuck on 13 October, in a 3–2 shootout loss to the Edmonton Oilers. On 7 April 2022, Ekman-Larsson played his first game against the Arizona Coyotes as a Canuck and got an assist in a 5–1 win on a goal by
Alex Chiasson. On 16 June 2023, the Canucks bought out the final four years of his contract, making him an
unrestricted free agent.
Florida Panthers (2023–2024) On 1 July 2023, Ekman-Larsson signed a one-year, $2.25 million contract with the
Florida Panthers. Injuries to
Brandon Montour and
Aaron Ekblad led to increased ice time, which along with chemistry with
Gustav Forsling promoted Ekman-Larsson to the Panthers' top power play unit. He won the
Stanley Cup with the Panthers on 24 June 2024 when the Panthers defeated the
Edmonton Oilers in game seven of the
2024 Stanley Cup Final.
Toronto Maple Leafs (2024–present) On 1 July 2024, Ekman-Larsson signed a four-year, $14 million contract with the
Toronto Maple Leafs. On the 13 November, he played his
1,000th NHL game. ==International play==