Colby Guy
SUNRISE — When Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad was ruled out for the remainder of the season with a fractured leg, not many could have pictured him returning to the lineup in the way that he has.
”It was obviously a long summer,” Ekblad said. “I was able to be back on the ice 12 weeks after the injury and then I had two months of hard skating — maybe more, actually — before I played a game.
“That was huge for me, and I needed it. It has made it so I have been able to get to a certain level that I am used to.”
Since returning from his injury, Ekblad is on pace for the best season of his career, having 35 points (10 goals, 25 assists) in 37 games.
If Ekblad keeps his same pace over the entire season, he will finish with 77 points, a 31-point improvement from his previous high of 41 from the 2019-20 season.
You thought Aaron Ekblad was good before?
Look at him now.
“We’ve been fortunate to be together for a lot of years and grow together,” Jonathan Huberdeau said. “Last year, I thought he was unbelievable before he got hurt.
“This year, with it being tough to come back from an injury, he’s playing with way more confidence now, he’s good offensively, the quarterback of the power play, and playing good defensively.”
Many around the league are taking notice of just how good Ekblad is.
As things currently stand, Ekblad ranks fifth in points (35) and third in goals (10) among all NHL defensemen.
It has been enough to even warrant praise from New York Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant — who was Ekblad’s first NHL coach with the Panthers.
“He was an 18-year-old rookie when we had him and he was a great, young player at the time, but his overall game is excellent,” said Gallant, whose first big role with the Panthers came at the 2014 NHL Draft in Philadelphia when Florida took Ekblad first overall.
“He’s a top player in this league, his offense is really good, but it’s just his overall game.”
Ekblad’s scoring is not the only thing he brings to the table.
The 6-4, 215-pound defenseman uses his frame to knock oncoming attackers off of the puck while possessing the skating ability to make plays in all situations.
“Getting points is not what it’s all about,” Ekblad said. “The points are nice, playing on the power play is nice, but at the end of the day, it’s about winning hockey games and playing good defense for me.”
The Panthers have been winning hockey games, holding a league-best 26-7-5 record and they have been leaning on Ekblad to make it happen.
As things stand right now, he ranks eighth in time-on-ice per game (25:12) among NHL defensemen.
Those minutes come in all situations as well, with Ekblad having the fourth-most power play minutes and the 17th most shorthanded minutes out of all blueliners.
“He’s such an elite defenseman. Every single year, he’s been putting up great numbers, he’s just so good,” said MacKenzie Weegar, Ekblad’s usual defense partner.
“It’s been really easy for me to play my game [next to him] and I’m really happy to see him come back from injury and not miss a beat, I know he’s going to keep it rolling for the rest of the way here.”
Despite Ekblad’s great season, he was not selected to partake in the NHL All-Star Game.
The Atlantic Division sent two defensemen to the NHL All-Star Game: Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman and Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin.
While Hedman has been one of the top defensemen in the league, as he always has, this season, scoring the most points among NHL defensemen with 40, Dahlin has not.
The 21-year-old has six goals and 22 points in 37 games, which is still good, but not at Ekblad’s level.
He is there to satisfy the NHL’s requirement for each team to send at least one player to the NHL All-Star Game.
With that rule in place, Huberdeau was the only player able to represent Florida in the event.
“Not sure how it works, obviously you need a guy from every team,” Huberdeau said. “I think Ekblad deserves it as much as me.
“The way he’s playing the game right now is great for our team, he’s showing why he’s a number one, and he’s putting up the stats too this year.”
While the All-Star Game is out of the question for Ekblad, as Sasha Barkov is Florida’s representative in the NHL’s ‘Last Men In’ online voting campaign, there are two things that the 25-year-old defenseman does have his sights on: The Stanley Cup and the Norris Trophy.
Ekblad would not rally for the latter in public, but his defense partner sure would.
“Hopefully he gets that Norris Trophy look at the end of the year,” said Weegar, who brought in Norris votes last year after replacing Ekblad after the injury.
Ekblad, who is the third-longest tenured Panther behind Huberdeau and Barkov, has been around for some pretty bad times, but this season looks different.
The Panthers are currently on pace for the best season they’ve ever had and are in the driver’s seat for the President’s Trophy.
Ekblad, part of the Florida Core, deserves a lot of the recognition.
“I think he’s one of the best defensemen in the league,” rookie forward Anton Lundell said.
“Ekblad moves from the blue line, he’s dangerous, if he has the chance to step up and drive to the net, he drives to the net. He doesn’t only make the easy plays and you can see why he’s so good and why he’s one of the best defensemen in the league.”
FLORIDA PANTHERS ON DECK
FLORIDA PANTHERS AT CALGARY FLAMES
- When: Tuesday, 9 p.m.
- Where: The Saddledome; Calgary, AB
- Tickets: CLICK HERE
- TV/Streaming: Bally Sports Florida
- Radio: WQAM 560, SiriusXM
- Last season: Did not play
- All-time regular season series: Calgary leads 21-11-3, 3 ties
- This season: @Florida 6, Calgary 2, Feb. 4