Florida Panthers
Suspended: Aaron Ekblad Out 20 Games for Failed Drug Test
The Florida Panthers will be without top defenseman Aaron Ekblad for the remainder of the regular season after he was suspended by the NHL for violating the terms of the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program.
Ekblad has been suspended 20 games without pay.
The Panthers have 18 games remaining, which means Ekblad will be out for the first two games of the playoffs as well.
Ekblad confirmed in a release from the NHLPA that he failed a random drug test.
“The news that I failed a random drug test was a shock,’’ Ekblad wrote in the release. “Ultimately, I made a mistake by taking something to help me recover from recent injuries without first checking with proper medical and team personnel.’’
Ekblad will now be referred to the NHL/NHLPA Program for Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health for evaluation and possible treatment.
He was absent from practice on Monday with the Panthers releasing photos of him visiting patients at Joe DiMaggio’s Children’s Hospital in Hollywood.
The Panthers recently traded for Seth Jones from the Chicago Blackhawks who will now replace Ekblad as Gus Forsling’s partner on Florida’s top defensive pairing.
Huge thanks to Aaron Ekblad for spending time with our patients at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, signing jerseys, playing video games, and bringing some @FlaPanthers pride, of course! 🏒❤️🐾
Your kindness makes a real impact. #HockeyFightsCancer pic.twitter.com/iJuoZ3oIFk
— Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital (@JDCHospital) March 10, 2025
Florida was currently carrying seven defensemen, with Uvis Balinskis now expected to get back into the lineup.
The Panthers also have a number of options who can be called up from AHL Charlotte and are back to having $8.5 million under the salary cap: Ekblad’s $7.5 million cap hit comes off during the suspension.
Ekblad, who is a pending free agent after this season, said he will be ready to help the Panthers once he returns for Game 3 of the first-round of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs.
“I have let my teammates, the Panthers organiztion, and our great fans down,’’ Ekblad continued in his release.
“For that, I am truly sorry. I have accepted responsibility for my mistake and will be fully prepared to return to my team when my suspension is over.
“I have learned a hard lesson and cannot wait to be back with my teammates.’’
Ekblad, the second-longest tenured member of the Panthers behind captain Sasha Barkov, may lose close to $1 million due to the suspension.
Although Ekblad’s cap hit is $7.5 million, he was already paid a $3 million signing bonus; his base pay this season is $4 million.
The NHL said it will not comment on this matter further.
The Panthers flew to Boston on Monday afternoon and will play the Bruins on Tuesday night.
ON DECK: GAME No. 65
FLORIDA PANTHERS at BOSTON BRUINS
- When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.
- Where: Boston Garden
- Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FTL); WPTV 5/WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (SWFla)
- Streaming: Panthers+, ESPN+
- Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
- Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
- Betting Odds — Panthers Favored: Money Line (-180); Puck line (-1.5, +130); Over/Under 5.5 (-115/-105)
- This Season (Panthers Lead 2-1) — At Florida: Panthers 6, Bruins 4 (Oct. 8); Bruins 4, Panthers 3 (OT) Jan. 11. At Boston:Panthers 4, Bruins 3 (Oct. 14); Tuesday.
- Last Regular Season: Bruins Won 4-0
- Last Postseason: Panthers Won ECS 4-2
- All-time Regular Season Series: Boston leads 65-39-7, 6 ties
- All-time Postseason Series: Florida leads 3-0 (1996 1st, 2023 1st, 2024 2nd)
- Up Next for the Panthers: Thursday at Toronto Maple Leafs, 7 p.m.
Well, if nothing else, this just gives the club leverage in the upcoming negotiations. This and the signing of Jones all but assures he’s either gone, or comes back on an extremely team friendly deal, No way he’s getting a raise now and I’m sure there are clubs that will steer clear of him because of this. There’s no way around it, this is a giant black eye for his reputation.
Sadly exactly where I went with it. I believe it to be a honest mistake til proven otherwise otherwise, but this is gonna work against him come the summer
It’s not an “honest mistake”. He knows what he did, he knew it then, he knows why he did it, and admitted as much today. There was no “I should have read the label first”, or “it’s a cream I’ve used every day, I didn’t know it was banned”. He got busted, period. And he’s offered no defense. At least he has someone to talk to about it with Nate Schmidt on the team.