‘I bleed for the Florida Panthers,' Aaron Ekblad says, but free agency looms after Cup Final

Miami Herald

4 days ago

The Florida Panthers are all Aaron Ekblad has known since he began his NHL career. It's the team that selected him No. 1 overall in the 2014 NHL Entry Level Draft, the team that has invested 11 years in him, the team he saw go from playing through plenty of lean years to finally breaking through as perennial playoff contenders to finally becoming Stanley Cup champions.
And now comes a thought Ekblad has been hoping wouldn't come — the thought that his time with the Panthers might be coming to an end.
Ekblad is slated to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, meaning his tenure with the Panthers very well could be over after the Stanley Cup Final — a rematch with the Edmonton Oilers that begins Wednesday at 8 p.m. from Edmonton's Rogers Place.
The 29-year-old defenseman said he's trying not to look at what might happen just yet; that would be a disservice to himself and his teammates as they try to repeat as Stanley Cup champions.
But when that time comes, when this series concludes, he already knows what he would want in a perfect world.
'Listen, this team, I live and breathe for the Florida Panthers,' Ekblad said Tuesday at the Panthers' pre-Stanley Cup Final media day session. 'I bleed for the Florida Panthers. I've given my body and everything to this team, and I want to keep doing it forever, for as long as they'll let me come to the rink.'
This is the first time Ekblad has played a season without a guaranteed contract already in place for the following year. He started his career on a standard three-year entry-level contract and signed an eight-year, $60 million extension two years into his Panthers tenure that went through this season.
In that time, Ekblad established the franchise's defenseman records for games played (732), goals (118), assists (262) and points (380). He has battled through multiple injuries the past few years to remain in form as a top-pair defenseman, forming one of the top blue line duos in the league with Gustav Forsling, and taking more responsibility on the defensive side of the game after entering the league known more for his offensive production.
'We've played so many games together,' Forsling said. 'We know each other so well. He's an amazing player. He's been great for us, and we're hopefully gonna keep it going here.'
Ekblad came into the season knowing full well he was probably 'just going to ride it out and see what happens' in regard to his contract, as he told the Miami Herald during training camp. He had watched how several of his teammates had done the same during the past couple years and gotten rewarded — Sam Reinhart and Forsling being two prime examples.
'You never know what's going to happen,' Ekblad said then.
What happened for Ekblad was, in his words, a 'roller coaster.' He played well when he was on the ice, producing 33 points (three goals, 30 assists) in 56 games.
But it was the reason he missed time that raised some flags. In addition to missing eight games in a nine-game stretch in January with a lower-body injury, Ekblad was suspended 20 games without pay for violating the terms of the NHL and NHL Players Association's performance-enhancing substances program. That included the final 18 regular-season games and the first two games of this playoff run.
Ekblad called the suspension 'the toughest' thing he has been through in his career.
'There's so many ways you look at it,' Ekblad said. 'Respect and integrity and character, family, name, my teammates, fans. It's every single which way you look at it. The money that I lose on top of all that — not that I care about in that sense; I'd give it all back to play. A lot of regret, but is what it is, and I have to find a way to move forward.'
Ekblad has moved forward and returned to form in the playoffs. He has 11 points in 13 postseason games, most among Florida's defensemen, and has played stellar on the defensive end as well. He has been a key factor in the Panthers getting back to the Stanley Cup Final for a third consecutive year and having a chance to win it all once again.
But will he and the Panthers be moving on after that? Time will tell. Money will certainly play a factor in things. Florida is slated to enter the offseason with $19 million in cap space and only 16 players under contract (not counting restricted free agent Mackie Samoskevich). In addition to Ekblad, center Sam Bennett is also a pending free agent and will be due a hefty pay raise from his current deal that is paying him an average of $4.425 million per season. It could be a tight squeeze unless Ekblad takes a pay cut for Florida to keep both and still fill out the rest of the roster.
Regardless, Ekblad has embraced the learning experience of playing through this season.
'You're playing for your life,' Ekblad said, 'and I'm happy to be in this situation now. It's been a fun experience playing in a contract year. I'm happy with the way things are going.'