Aaron Ekblad Stays with the Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers’ star defenseman, Aaron Ekblad, has reached an agreement to extend his contract for eight more years.
The agreement, which has an average annual value of $6.1 million, will prevent Ekblad from becoming an unrestricted free agent. The news was first reported by TSN.
At 29 years old, Ekblad would have been one of the most coveted players on the NHL free agent market. He chose to stay in Florida, potentially foregoing millions of dollars per season.
Ekblad’s decision to stay makes sense. The Panthers have just won their second consecutive Stanley Cup championship, after reaching the final for the third time in a row. General Manager Bill Zito has also prioritized securing the team’s key players, including re-signing Sam Bennett, the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as NHL playoff MVP, with an eight-year, $64 million extension earlier this month.
Ekblad was selected by Florida in the first position of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. Since then, he has been a fundamental element in the team’s defense, accumulating 118 goals and 380 points in 732 career games. Although his production in the last two regular seasons has decreased, with only seven goals and 51 points in 107 games, he remains a key player, averaging more than 23 minutes per game and being an important presence in the power play and penalty kill.
Ekblad’s availability was also impacted during the 2024-25 season by a 20-game suspension for violating the NHL/NHLPA’s performance-enhancing substances program, which extended into the postseason.
However, the playoffs were the stage where Ekblad shone again, recording four goals and 13 points in 19 games, while Florida defeated Edmonton for the second consecutive season in the final.
Now that Zito has secured Ekblad and Bennett, the question remains whether another key free agent on the team, forward Brad Marchand, will also stay with the team. Marchand was acquired by Florida before the March trade deadline and was instrumental in the playoff success, accumulating 10 goals and 20 points in 23 games.
The Panthers currently have $4.9 million of cap space available for next season, according to Puckpedia.
