FHN Today: Hagel Rips Ekblad, says Head Hit ‘As Bad as it Gets’

FORT LAUDERDALE — Brandon Hagel had some harsh words for Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad during the Lightning’s clean out day on Friday.

Hagel was injured during the second period of Game 4 on Monday night when Ekblad got Hagel in the head with an elbow.

There was no penalty on the play although Hagel was slow to get up and skated directly to the room and did not return.

Ekblad was later suspended two games for the hit and Hagel missed Game 5 on Wednesday.

The second game of the Ekblad suspension will be served in Game 1 of the Maple Leafs series.

Answering a question from Erik Erlandsson of LightningInsider.com, Hagel said he admits hard hits are a part of the playoffs — Ekblad’s hit was almost certainly retribution for the high hit Hagel bestowed on Sasha Barkov in Game 2 which got him suspended for Game 3 — but said going for the head is an unpardonable offense.

Hagel added that Ekblad has not reached out to him.

Ekblad has not been made available to the media during his suspension.

“I know there are accidents in hockey and there are hits that are made where your shoulder is down, maybe catches the head. Sports are fast,’’ Hagel said, perhaps explaining his own hit on Barkov.

“It happens very often, and you don’t like to see it obviously. It’s tough because you only got one of the things up here [pointing to his head] and I, guess for myself, that was as purposeful as you could possibly see a headshot to say the least.”

Hagel said that “everyone knows how the playoffs work’’ in trying to get top players out of the opposing lineup. “But try and do it clean,’’ he said.

“It’s hard to win a Stanley Cup,’’ Hagel continued, “and it’s hard to do when the top players are in the lineup but I don’t think anyone is going out there to purposely try and injure someone.’’

OK then.

Hagel was not asked about Barkov directly, but it sounds like he was trying to knock the Florida captain — but not hurt him.

He did says he thought Ekblad’s intention was for injury.

“I thought that was the case for myself, which sucked,’’ Hagel said, adding he could have played through a myriad of injuries, “but you only have one brain. If you’re only going to give … two games to purposely hurt someone’s head, if that’s the case, I guess I don’t have a bad memory.’’

As for Ekblad, Hagel said “I’m pretty sure he has head problems himself. He’s had a few concussions. So, I would think you would want to, I don’t know, just purposely going for someone’s head is at bad as it gets.’’

Ekblad had at least three concussions earlier in his career which were made public starting during the 2015-16 season but none, at least ones that cost him any time, since.

FLORIDA PANTHERS / FHN

• Some fans in Toronto brought back the ‘We Want Florida!’ chant. Some fans in Ottawa made it clear they’re rooting for anyone who is playing the Leafs — including the Panthers.
• Now we know when Game 1 is at least.
• The Charlotte Checkers got the postseason off to a great start.
• Sam Reinhart and Barkov are the first teammates to be Selke Trophy finalists since 2008, Barkov is going for his third Selke and second in a row.
• Sergei Bobrovsky will see a familiar face across the ice in Toronto goalie Anthony Stolarz.
• Bobrovsky won’t be alone. There’s a couple former Panthers on the Leafs.
• With Brad Marchand, Anton Lundell, and Eetu Luostarinen, the Panthers have a third line the Lightning could not answer.
• When Matthew Tkachuk went on LTIR, the Panthers fixed some of their weaknesses.
• After beating the Lightning in 5 again, the Panthers control the Battle of Florida.
• Subscribe to the FHN YouTube channel to hear from the Florida Panthers throughout the postseason. We had a strong Friday with long sessions with Paul Maurice, Bobrovsky, and Seth Jones. More today from FTL.

NHL LINKS / NATIONAL HOCKEY NOW

• The St. Louis Blues force a Game 7 in their homer series with the Winnipeg Jets after chasing Connor Hellebuyck for the third time this series — all in St. Loo.
• It’s official: Former Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan is headed to the New York Rangers.
• Where do the Boston Bruins look next?
• The New Jersey Devils wanted to hire Sullivan (last year).
• The Colorado Avalanche are in Dallas for Game 7 — where Stars coach Pete DeBoer is 8-0 in such games.
• Marc-Andre Fleury played his final NHL game on Thursday when the Golden Knights knocked out the Wild. But he will not be forgotten.
• Montreal Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis is a much deserved Jack Adams finalist.
• Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman played against the Panthers with a broken foot.

2025 NHL STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS

EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS: GAME 1

FLORIDA PANTHERS @ TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

Best-of-7 Series

• When: Monday, 8 p.m.
• Where: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto
• National TV/Streaming: ESPN
• Radio: WQAM 560-AM; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
• Series Schedule — Game 1: Monday @Toronto, 8 p.m. (ESPN); Game 2: @Toronto TBA; Game 3: @Florida TBA; Game 4: @Florida TBA; Game 5*:@Toronto TBA; Game 6*: @Florida TBA; Game 7*: @Toronto TBA.
• How They Got Here: Toronto d. Ottawa 4-2; Florida d. Tampa Bay 4-1
• This Season (Panthers Won 3-1) — At Florida: Panthers 5, Leafs 1 (Nov.27); Panthers 3, Leafs 1 (Ap. 8). At Toronto: Panthers 3, Maple Leafs 2 (March 14); Maple Leafs 3, Panthers 2 (April 2).
• Last Regular Season: Tied 2-2
• All-time Regular Season Series: Toronto leads 51-40-7, 7 ties
• All-time Postseason: Panthers d. Toronto 4-1 (2023 ECS)