George Richards, FHN Publisher
The NHL will open up its market to free agency on Tuesday at noon, and the Florida Panthers still have some pressing business to get to — especially when it comes to defenseman Aaron Ekblad.
Ekblad is the second-longest tenured member of the Panthers after being the No. 1 pick of the 2014 NHL Draft just a year after Dale Tallon took Sasha Barkov second in 2013.
A two-time All-Star and only the second player in franchise history to be named Rookie of the Year, Ekblad owns the team record book for defensemen as the career-leader in games played (732), goals (118), assists (262), points (380), and power-play goals (41).
Oh yeah, he is also a two-time Stanley Cup champion.
That’s on the ice.
Off the ice, Ekblad is one of the heart-and-soul guys on the team, a ringleader of sorts whom the Panthers rally around.
He is extremely important to the franchise.
But, as of Sunday night, he and the Panthers remain at an impasse when it comes to a new contract.
Ekblad just finished an eight-year deal that paid him an average of $7.5 million, a contract signed in 2016 after just two seasons in the league.
By all accounts, he will likely get a raise on that contract if he were to test the market come Tuesday.
The likelihood of Ekblad getting a raise with the Panthers is not likely.
Gus Forsling signing an eight-year deal worth $5.75 million annually last season did not help things; Florida paying $7 million of Seth Jones’ $9.5 million contract with Chicago picking up an NHL-record $13.125 million retention comes into play as well.
Still, finding a top-pairing, right-handed defenseman with the kind of skillset Ekblad has will not be easy to replace, something the Panthers are well aware of.
Yet.
The Panthers, with $11 million under the salary cap per PuckPedia, just do not have the space to give Ekblad what he would command elsewhere.
But that’s an old chestnut.
Florida players have been acceptable to taking less to remain with the Panthers — the question here is, how much less?
We do not know what Ekblad is asking for, nor do we know what the Panthers are countering with. Brad Marchand is also angling to stay.
So, where could Aaron Ekblad be plying his trade this coming season.
We look at some potential landing spots below.
1. Florida Panthers
Home is where the heart is, right?
The Panthers have been the only team that Ekblad knows — and he has made it clear he does not want to leave.
Florida only has two No. 1 draft picks in history, and they are both defensemen from Windsor, Ontario: Ed Jovanovski and Ekblad.
Ekblad may be from Canada, but he and his wife Dayna have made South Florida their home with Aaron saying at Florida’s exit day last weekend that the Panthers are “part of who I am at this point. I’ve spent 11 years here, and that’s more than I’ve spent in any home or city in my life. So it’s home, and I expect it to be home.’’
UPDATE: And so it is.
Ekblad gets eight years at $6.1 million per to stick around with the Panthers for the rest of his playing days.
At media day before Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, Ekblad said “everyone knows where I stand. Listen, this team … I live and breathe for the Florida Panthers. I bleed for the Florida Panthers. I have given my body and everything to this team. I want to keep doing it forever. As long as they let me come to the rink.’’
And he was giving Sam Bennett grief at the Cup celebration for surrendering negotiating leverage?
Regardless, we know where Ekblad’s heart is — and it is right here.
Ekblad’s No. 5 is likely to hang from the rafters of Florida’s arena one day whether he stays or moves on.
But if he stays, it is all but guaranteed to hang next to the likes of Barkov, Sergei Bobrovsky and others.
Ekblad is so intertwined with the Panthers, it would be hard to see him playing for anyone else.
2. Detroit Red Wings
If Ekblad and the Panthers do not come to an agreement, Ekblad can really go home, right?
Ekblad grew up across the border from Detroit in Windsor, and was a big fan of the Red Wings.
As I wrote in 2014 when Ekblad played his first NHL game at Joe Louis Arena, his Detroit ties run deep.
If he was ever going to wear something other than a Panthers logo, the winged wheel would be fitting.
“I’ve never been able to play at the Joe, but I’ve been there as a fan about 100 times,’’ Ekblad said in 2014 as a rookie with the Panthers. “It’s exciting. It’s going to be a ton of fun. I grew up with that team.’’
Ekblad ended up scoring in Florida’s 4-3 win in his Detroit, giving the puck to his parents for safekeeping.
“It was pretty cool looking up at all the banners,’’ he said. “This is a pretty storied building. Then you look across the ice and see Datsyuk, Zetterburg, and Franzen and I’m playing against them. That’s pretty cool.’’
Remember that talk about a No. 5 in the rafters?
Ekblad wouldn’t be able to wear that number in Detroit since it belongs to Hall of Famer Nicklas Lidstrom — which is in the rafters.
Ekblad wears No. 5 because of Lidstrom.
The Red Wings are desperate to get things going under Steve Yzerman having not been to the playoffs since 2016 and seemingly spinning their, ahem, wheels in an already strong but rapidly improving Atlantic Division.
Detroit needs a splash, and Ekblad would leave a big ripple.
Per PuckPedia, the Red Wings are $18.4 million under the cap.
3. Anaheim Ducks
Few teams in the NHL have as much salary cap space as the Ducks — PuckPedia has them with almost $36 million to spend, if they so wish.
Anaheim also has some friendly faces in new coach Joel Quenneville, as well as former teammates Radko Gudas and Frank Vatrano.
GM Pat Verbeek also has seen a lot of Ekblad during his time working with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Ducks are on the way up in the Western Conference and Orange County offers Ekblad and his wife the warm climate they certainly seem to enjoy.
This certainly would not be a bad landing spot.
4. Boston Bruins
After Marchand was traded to the Panthers, anything can happen, right?
The Bruins may be in a light rebuild after last year’s collapse, but there are some good pieces here and the Bs got plenty ($22 million) of cash.
With Charlie McAvoy making $9.5 million, the Bruins certainly do not have an internal salary cap when it comes to their defensemen.
They just may back up ye olde Brinks truck.
5. Nashville Predators
OK, wild card here.
Do not even know if the Predators are looking for a big right-handed defenseman but they do not have one so, yeah.
Sunday night, Nashville did get Nic Hague from Vegas and signed him to a four-year deal with an AAV of $5.5 million. But he’s a lefty, so…
There are other places that would throw bags of money at Ekblad, but the city will have a big say in where he ends up.
Nashville fits this bill.
It is a great town, one Ekblad and his wife would certainly consider as a place to live.
The Predators had a rough season after making a big splash last summer, but Ekblad could come in and make an immediate impact for Barry Trotz and Andrew Brunette on the other Broadway.
Nashville also still has the money to do it.
6. Columbus Blue Jackets
This is a bit of a long shot on both ends — would Ekblad go to central Ohio, and do the Blue Jackets need him now?
Columbus may still have interest even after signing Dante Fabbro to a four-year deal worth $4.125 million AAV on Sunday.
Fabbro may be the Jackets’ top d-man on the right side now, but Ekblad would be an upgrade and, most importantly, Columbus has the money with over $28 million remaining under the cap.
And, hey, old pal Erik Gudbranson is there.
Aaron Ekblad playing with Zach Werenski? Wow.