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Aaron Ekblad

Panthers Notes: Defense, Hanifin, Duclair

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On today’s episode of TSN’s Insider Trading Pierre LeBrun said that the Florida Panthers are looking to upgrade their defense as they head into the summer. It’s not a surprise to hear this as their defensive core was badly banged up after the playoffs and the left side of their group leaves a bit to be desired. They will also need to contend with free agent departures and Aaron Ekblad likely missing the start of the season with a shoulder injury.

All these issues have Florida reportedly shopping for defensemen via trade. Florida doesn’t have much in the way of cap space with just over $10MM available, so any trade might need to be dollar for dollar. The other issue they may come up against is their lack of trade capital, the Panthers don’t have a first-round pick until 2026 after dealing three first-rounders last year and this could lead Florida to make an old-fashioned player-for-player hockey trade with a team seeking forward help.

In other Panthers notes:

  • One name that LeBrun brought up when discussing the Panthers search for defense was Calgary Flames rearguard Noah Hanifin. The former fifth overall pick reportedly informed the Flames that he doesn’t plan to sign an extension, meaning that the one year remaining on his current contract is likely to be his last in Calgary. Hanifin had seven goals and 31 assists in 81 games for Calgary last season and has been mentioned in multiple outlets as a possible trade target for the Panthers. The Athletic’s Julian McKenzie wrote a column this week talking about a possible Hanifin to Florida connection, but did also bring up the Panthers lack of tradeable assets as a possible roadblock.
  • LeBrun goes on to talk about one move the Panthers could make to acquire some trade bait and that is moving forward Anthony Duclair. The 27-year-old has one year remaining on his contract at a very affordable $3MM cap hit and is just a year removed from scoring 31 goals. The Panthers may not be able to sign Duclair long-term and might be able to get some assets for him to flip for a defenseman. LeBrun goes on to say that he doesn’t think Florida wants to trade the former third overall pick, but they are fielding a lot of calls and could move him for the right offer. Duclair only dressed in 20 games in the regular season, but he was terrific in the playoffs where he put up four goals and seven assists in 20 games helping the Panthers reach the Stanley Cup finals.

Aaron Ekblad Will Have Shoulder Surgery

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For the second straight day, the Florida Panthers announced a member of their defense corps will undergo shoulder surgery. Aaron Ekblad will have a procedure done after sustaining two separate shoulder dislocations during the team’s playoff run, he told reporters including Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press today.

Ekblad’s recovery time will stretch into next season’s training camp. It’s unclear whether he’ll be ready for the start of the 2023-24 regular season.

One of his shoulder dislocations occurred during the Eastern Conference Final, Ekblad said. He didn’t register a point at even strength in the team’s four-game sweep of the Carolina Hurricanes and averaged 21 minutes per game – not including Game 1’s four-overtime win.

As head coach Paul Maurice said yesterday, Ekblad broke his foot during Game 2 of the team’s first-round win against the Boston Bruins. Ekblad said today he didn’t find out about the injury until the downtime between the second and third rounds.

That second-round series on a broken foot against the Toronto Maple Leafs was Ekblad’s best of the postseason. The 27-year-old defender clicked at a point per game against Toronto after failing to get on the scoresheet in six games against the Bruins.

Maurice added more clarity to Florida’s injury report today, too, saying forward Eetu Luostarinen’s absence in the Stanley Cup Final was due to a broken tibia sustained in the series-clinching Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final. Unlike Ekblad and Brandon Montour, Luostarinen will not require off-season surgery.

Luostarinen skated multiple times during Panthers practices after the injury and attempted to return. The 2017 second-round pick of the Hurricanes had a breakout season for Florida in 2022-23, averaging nearly 16 minutes per game in the regular season and scoring 17 goals and 43 points while playing in all 82 games. He added five points in 16 playoff games while seeing an uptick in ice time.

Florida Panthers Issue Injury Updates On Matthew Tkachuk, Aaron Ekblad

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Florida Panthers stars Matthew Tkachuk and Aaron Ekblad both played through significant injuries during the team’s playoff run, head coach Paul Maurice said after their season-ending 9-3 loss in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final last night.

It was obvious Tkachuk had sustained an injury in Game 3 after taking a hard open-ice hit from Vegas Golden Knights forward Keegan Kolesar during the first period, which Maurice said was a broken sternum. Tkachuk still managed to log 19 shifts, 16:40 of ice time, and 14 penalty minutes in Game 4.

Ekblad, on the other hand, had a much longer list of ailments that will need attention over the offseason. Per Maurice, the 27-year-old defender sustained a broken foot during the team’s first-round victory over the Boston Bruins and later suffered two separate shoulder dislocations and a torn oblique muscle.

Both Ekblad and Tkachuk missed just one game during the playoffs, of which the Panthers lost both. Ekblad missed Game 4 against Boston with what was at the time termed an undisclosed injury, although it seems likely the broken foot kept him out of action. Tkachuk couldn’t go for last night’s Game 5, with Maurice having this to say on their decision-making process:

[Tkachuk] didn’t dress himself for the game. Somebody helped him get his gear on, somebody tied his skates, somebody put his sweater on. But the next day when he came in, he was in significant pain. So it wasn’t really a question whether he’d be able to play [Game 5] or not. The idea would be to let it calm and we might be able to get him to get him to Game 7.

Maurice also said some Panthers players wouldn’t be healthy for the start of next season, although he didn’t name specifics. It’s a disappointing end to the season for Florida, but the immediate concern now lies with the long-term health of Tkachuk and Ekblad.

Tkachuk’s recovery from an injury he only played through for a game and a half should be rather straightforward. However, the Panthers now have to hope Ekblad’s lengthy injury history isn’t further exacerbated by any longer-term recovery complications from his foot or his oblique tear.

Atlantic Division Updates: Ekblad, Duclair, Bunting, Cernak

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Josh Gold-Smith of The Score reports that reinforcements are coming in for the Florida Panthers, as both Aaron Ekblad and Anthony Duclair will be back for Game Five. This will be an elimination game for the Panthers, as the Boston Bruins have taken a three-to-one lead in the series.

Ekblad finally makes his return after leaving Game Three with an undisclosed injury. Before the start of Game Four, Ekblad was listed as a game-time decision and wound up not being able to play, as Casey Fitzgerald took his place in the lineup. Aside from Game Three, Ekblad averaged a little over 24 minutes a night in the first two games of the series but has been unable to find the scoresheet yet for the Panthers.

Duclair, who was also sitting out of Game Four with an undisclosed injury, returns to stave off elimination from the President’s Trophy winners. Duclair has not been used as much as Ekblad has been throughout this series, only averaging a little under 13 minutes a night. In the three games that he has played, Duclair has also been unable to find himself on the scoresheet and also carries a +/- of -6.

Other notes from the Atlantic Division:

  • Returning back from a three-game suspension, Michael Bunting will be available for the Toronto Maple Leafs Thursday night as they look to eliminate the three-time defending Eastern Conference Champion Tampa Bay Lightning. Playing very well in his absence, Mark Masters of TSN reports that there is potential for Bunting to not make his way into the lineup for Game Five. Masters relays on a message from the Maple Leafs’ head coach Sheldon Keefe, who states that no decision has been made about Bunting’s return to the lineup but did confirm that Matthew Knies was not coming out of the lineup for Bunting.
  • On the receiving end of Bunting’s suspension-worthy hit, Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak will not return for Game Five (Tweet Link). Only playing just over nine minutes in Game One, the Lightning have been without one of their best defensive defensemen for the remainder of the series up to this point. Since Cernak’s exit from Tampa Bay’s lineup, the Lightning have been unable to hold Toronto to less than four goals a game.

Atlantic Notes: Krejci, Ekblad, Fabbri

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Speaking with reporters including Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald after Friday’s victory, Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery indicated that center David Krejci is 50/50 to play in Sunday’s fourth contest against the Panthers.  Krejci is dealing with an upper-body injury, meaning that Boston played last night without their top two middlemen with Patrice Bergeron not expected to make his series debut until Wednesday.  Krejci was an important secondary scorer for Boston this season with 16 goals and 40 assists, a solid return to the NHL after spending last season in Czechia and his return would certainly help a thinned-out center group.  However, he did not take part in today’s morning skate with a final answer on his availability not expected until tomorrow; he’s officially listed as questionable.

More from the Atlantic Division:

  • After leaving last night’s game early with an injury, Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad took part in an optional skate this morning, relays George Richards of Florida Hockey Now (Twitter link). Notably, he wasn’t wearing a no-contact sweater which suggests that he’ll be good to go on Sunday although he’s officially listed as a game-time decision.  Ekblad had a down year by his standards but still picked up 38 points in 71 games while logging over 23 minutes a night and is a key part of Florida’s back end.
  • Although Red Wings winger Robby Fabbri missed the final six weeks of the season after undergoing another knee surgery, he told MLive’s Ansar Khan that he would have been able to return had Detroit made the playoffs. This latest procedure was more of a cleanup instead of a full ACL reconstruction which means that the 27-year-old will have a full offseason to train and be ready for training camp in the fall.  Fabbri was limited to just 28 games this season but did fairly well when he was in the lineup, picking up seven goals and nine assists.

East Notes: Panthers Injuries, Capitals, Carlo

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There was some good news health-wise last night for the Florida Panthers, who are attempting to get back into the Eastern Conference playoff picture with a 7-2-1 record in their last ten games. Defenseman Aaron Ekblad and forward Sam Bennett both suffered upper-body injuries during last night’s win against Minnesota. Yet, head coach Paul Maurice said post-game that both players might be good to go for tomorrow’s game against the Rangers.

Even if one or both of Ekblad and Bennett can’t play tomorrow, it’s great news that neither player is expected to be out long-term. Ekblad’s already missed a handful of games due to injury this season, and his 20 points in 37 games is a bit of a step back from his usual pace. Still, he’s one of the best defensemen in the league and is dominant on the power play, one of Florida’s strengths. Bennett is also an essential part of Florida’s secondary scoring, as the 26-year-old is sixth on the team in scoring with 30 points in 48 games and plays nearly 18 minutes per game.

  • Don’t expect the Washington Capitals to follow in the Boston Bruins’ footsteps regarding load management. While it was reported earlier this week that Bruins might consider resting captain Patrice Bergeron at points down the stretch, Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette told The Athletic’s Tarik El-Bashir that he does not intend to employ a similar technique with the Capitals roster, which has been prone to injuries for much of the season. El-Bashir suspects that the Capitals’ slim cushion on a playoff spot in a tight Eastern Conference discourages Laviolette from resting any stars, something the Bruins and their world-shattering pace don’t have to worry about.
  • Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub and NBC Sports Boston reports that Boston Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo will play tonight when they host the San Jose Sharks. Carlo sustained a lower-body injury in a January 19 game against the Rangers but will not miss any further action. One of the league’s best pure defensive defensemen, Carlo has a goal and seven assists in 41 games this season, along with a career-high +23 rating.

Injury Updates: Ekblad, Bennett, Slavin, Foligno

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Just as the Florida Panthers have begun to make a real push to climb the Eastern Conference standings, the team has been hit with a rash of major injuries. The team is down to an Alex Lyon–Mack Guzda tandem in net, and now it seems they could be without their top defenseman. The Panthers have announced that 2014 first-overall pick Aaron Ekblad and 2014 fourth-overall pick Sam Bennett each suffered an upper-body injury in tonight’s game against the Minnesota Wild.

Per the team, Eklbad is doubtful to return, while Bennett has been ruled out. Ekblad is no stranger to injury troubles, as he has missed chunks of time in each of the past two seasons. Ekblad hasn’t escaped the Panthers’ team-wide regression from their President’s Trophy-winning form of last season, but he still has scored 20 points in 36 games and averages 24 minutes a night. While the emergence of Brandon Montour might help the team weather any extended Ekblad absence, this news is still unwelcome for a club desperate to gain ground on other contenders.

Some other injury notes from tonight’s games:

  • The Carolina Hurricanes have announced that defenseman Jaccob Slavin has suffered a lower-body injury, and will miss tonight’s game against the New York Islanders. With Slavin out, the Hurricanes will be missing one of the NHL’s best defensive defensemen. Offseason trade acquisition Dylan Coghlan has moved into the lineup in Slavin’s place, and will have a chance to put some quality play forward in the absence of Carolina’s top blueliner.
  • The Minnesota Wild have announced that forward Marcus Foligno will miss tonight’s game against the Panthers due to a non-COVID illness. While this is unlikely to keep him out of the lineup for any extended period, it does come as another piece of bad news in a difficult season for Foligno. The 31-year-old forward scored 23 goals last season and has seen much of that offense dry up this year, as he’s scoring at just a nine-goal 82-game pace.

Aleksander Barkov, Aaron Ekblad To Return For Florida Panthers

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The Montreal Canadiens are the unlucky team that will see the return of several key players for the Florida Panthers tonight. Aleksander Barkov, Aaron Ekblad, and Radko Gudas have all been cleared to return. It will also be the NHL debut of Anton Levtchi, who came over from the Finnish professional leagues this season.

Montreal not only has to play a much more healthy group but is also on the second half of a back-to-back after losing 4-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning last night. After an encouraging start, the Canadiens are now 3-6-1 in their last ten and have fallen to last place in the Atlantic Division.

Florida, meanwhile, is only one point ahead of them in the standings, and are on their own three-game losing streak. The 2022 Presidents’ Trophy winners have struggled to produce consistent offense and rank near the bottom of the league in goals against. Sergei Bobrovsky, who will start tonight, is in another one of his bad years, posting a career-low .895 save percentage through 21 appearances.

Ekblad has played just 24 games so far and has been outscored 32-21 when on the ice at even strength. The 26-year-old has been in and out of the lineup with injuries. something that has become a trend in his career.

Barkov, usually considered the team’s most important player, has just 25 appearances on the year, and hasn’t played since exiting a game on December 17 early. The big center has 22 points but just six of those are goals, after scoring a career-high 39 last season (in just 67 games).

Levtchi, 27, signed a one-year, entry-level contract in June to give North American hockey a go, and has scored 13 points in 24 games for the Charlotte Checkers so far. The undrafted forward has developed into a superstar in Finland, scoring 61 points in 55 games last season with Tappara Tampere.

Panthers Notes: Barkov, Gudas, Ekblad, Kiersted, Levtchi

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The Panthers could have a pair of regulars back in the lineup on Thursday against Montreal as George Richards of Florida Hockey Now reports that center Aleksander Barkov and defenseman Radko Gudas could be back for that contest.  Barkov has missed time due to illness twice this season which is a big loss for Florida as he’s their all-situations top middleman that once again is averaging close to a point per game.  Gudas, meanwhile, was injured early this month against Seattle, suffering a concussion.  The veteran has six points and 95 hits in 25 games so far this season.

However, it’s not all good news on the injury front for Florida as Richards adds that blueliner Aaron Ekblad might not be able to play against Montreal.  He suffered an upper-body injury on Friday and his absence would be a big blow as he’s logging over 24 minutes a night for the third straight season.  To that end, Richards tweets that blueliner Matt Kiersted has been recalled from the minors after being sent down over the weekend.  The 24-year-old has four points in 20 games with the Panthers this season.

Meanwhile, the team announced (Twitter link) that they have recalled forward Anton Levtchi from AHL Charlotte.  The 27-year-old signed a one-year deal with Florida back in June after leading the SM-liiga in scoring last season with 61 points in 55 games with Tappara.  So far this season with the Checkers, Levtchi has seven goals and six assists in 24 contests.  Florida returned Givani Smith and Grigori Denisenko to the minors over the weekend and it appears they’ll stay in the minors for now with Levtchi getting his first NHL look instead.

Rudolfs Balcers To Be Placed On Waivers

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The Florida Panthers moved several players to the minor leagues yesterday to prepare for the return of Aaron Ekblad but they still needed a little bit more cap space to get their star defenseman off long-term injured reserve. Head coach Paul Maurice told reporters including Kate Engleson of Bally Sports that it will be Rudolfs Balcers hitting waivers today to make room.

Balcers, 25, got off to a quick start with the Panthers this year but has seen his ice time limited in recent weeks and has just one point in his last nine games. The Latvian forward cleared waivers just a few months ago with the San Jose Sharks and is on a one-year, one-way contract worth $750K.

Interestingly, as CapFriendly points out, while waiving Balcers with the intention of assigning him to the minor leagues will clear enough cap space for Ekblad – it only just makes it. The team would be at the minimum of 18 skaters on the roster and would have no room to call up anyone else. That can result in some very tricky situations if players suffer injuries that do not require injured reserve. In that case, the Panthers would need to make some additional moves or play shorthanded.

Staying pressed right up against the cap ceiling could have some serious financial ramifications for the Panthers in other ways, too. Both Anton Lundell and Spencer Knight have significant performance bonuses in their entry-level contracts that would be carried over to next season if the team does not have the cap space to fit them in this year. The pair could earn as much as $2.7MM combined, though they would have to hit specific metrics for that to happen. The team is currently dealing with an overage of $637.5K from this mechanism last season.

So while activating Ekblad is certainly going to help the team on the ice, the cap situation in Florida continues to be a difficult puzzle to navigate for general manager Bill Zito.

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