Atlantic Notes: Ekblad, Veleno, Cowan, Supplemental Discipline

Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad left last night’s chaotic preseason contest against the Tampa Bay Lightning early, after just 41 seconds of ice time. His removal from the game came just after Lightning forward Scott Sabourin – a longtime AHL bruiser – delivered a big hit (and a punch to the head) of Ekblad. There has been no further update on Ekblad’s status and whether he suffered an injury, though as preseason games between rivals this preseason have featured unusually intense physical play, it would be no surprise to learn Ekblad was removed from the game for precautionary reasons.

If his removal was indeed precautionary, it would appear such a move was a wise one by the Panthers. Yesterday’s game featured a whopping 312 penalty minutes and 16 ejections, with the Panthers themselves getting an eye-popping 17 power play opportunities in their 7-0 victory. The game also earned Tampa’s Roman Schmidt a hefty fine from the Department of Player Safety for cross-checking Carter Verhaeghe. It is unsurprising that the Panthers would look to be careful managing Ekblad, as the 2014 number-one overall pick has been somewhat injury-prone throughout his 732-game NHL career. Ekblad has not been healthy for a full season’s slate of games in the 2020’s, and has played in fewer than sixty games in each of the last two NHL campaigns.

Other notes from the NHL’s Atlantic Division:

• 306-game NHL veteran Joe Veleno has been a standout player of the Montreal Canadiens’ preseason and training camp, wrote both Sportsnet’s Eric Engels and The Athletic’s Arpon Basu. Basu wrote that it is “safe to assume” that Veleno’s performance this training camp and preseason has earned him a spot on the team’s season-opening NHL roster, which would be a crucial development for Veleno, who signed a one-year, $900K contract in Montreal in July. Veleno was bought out of his last contract by the Seattle Kraken, and appeared to be at a crossroads regarding his NHL future. The 2018 first-rounder appeared to lose his grip on a regular NHL role in Detroit and Chicago, just one year after scoring a career-high 12 goals and 28 points. Now it appears Veleno has found a strong fit with his hometown Canadiens, and could end up filling some of the role occupied last season by Christian Dvorak.
• Toronto Maple Leafs 2023 first-rounder Easton Cowan has been a hugely successful star player for the OHL’s London Knights, but hasn’t yet made his debut in professional hockey. That is about to change, and Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube indicated to the media (including The Hockey News’ David Alter) that Cowan’s debut could come in the NHL. Berube said that he believes Cowan is NHL-ready, and that his readiness has given the club “decisions to make” in terms of who to keep on its NHL roster. The Memorial Cup winner and 2-time OHL champion showed his pro-readiness in scoring 39 points in 17 postseason contests with the Knights last season.
• The NHL Department of Player Safety announced initial supplemental disciplinary actions resulting from yesterday’s violent preseason contest between the Panthers and the Lightning. Defenseman J.J. Moser will have a hearing for boarding Jesper Boqvist, Sabourin will have a hearing for his aforementioned hit (and more) on Ekblad, while Gage Goncalves and Roman Schmidt will each be fined the maximum-allowable amount under the CBA ($3,125 and $2,098.52, respectively) for cross-checking. The dates and times of Moser and Sabourin’s respective hearings have not yet been determined.