Florida’s dedication to Ekblad, who would have been the highest defenseman available on the market had he examined free company, comes after months of hesitancy to dole out a long-term commitment. Now, GM Invoice Zito has acquiesced and can give Ekblad the long-term stability he desired with a major low cost on the cap hit he might have landed as a UFA, which McKenzie says might have been as excessive as $9M.
The lifelong Panther will get to remain in Florida, who made clear throughout their run to the staff’s second straight Stanley Cup championship that he by no means needed to go away. Their 2014 No. 1 choose set the membership’s franchise document for video games performed and factors by a defenseman a number of years in the past, scoring 380 factors with a +96 ranking in 732 video games in a Florida uniform over the previous 11 years.
He might very effectively solely find yourself signing three NHL contracts — his entry-level deal, the eight-year, $60M extension he signed in 2016, and this one. Whereas little question a top-pairing menace now coming in at a major low cost on his earlier cap hit of $7.5M, his harm historical past was at all times the holdup in signing him to a long-term deal.
The Panthers felt that was a steep sufficient low cost to quell their issues, whereas Ekblad was keen to take almost a 33% lower on his market worth to land as a lot stability as doable.
Though Ekblad hasn’t performed a full 82-game schedule since 2018-19 and has solely hit the 70-game mark as soon as since then, he did have a principally wholesome 2024-25 marketing campaign that was truncated by a late-season suspension for PEDs. He nonetheless completed the season with a 3-30–33 scoring line in 56 video games, together with a +11 ranking.
His 23:31 common time on ice was his most in three years, bolstered by a rise in power-play time within the wake of Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Brandon Montour’s departures in free company final yr, which additionally performed a task in his offensive resurgence. His 0.59 factors per sport in 2024-25 have been the fourth-highest mark of his profession.
Ekblad was additionally spectacular within the postseason, posting 13 factors and a +10 ranking in 19 video games. That was his highest level complete in any of Florida’s three straight runs to the Stanley Cup Ultimate.
The 29-year-old will now reprise his function alongside Gustav Forsling for the foreseeable future as among the best two-way pairs within the league. The duo logged 870 minutes collectively within the common season and managed 54.6% of anticipated objectives whereas doing so, per MoneyPuck. He additionally types among the best one-two punches amongst right-shot D within the league with in-season acquisition Seth Jones.
The trio of Florida’s high three defensemen is now below contract by means of 2029-30 (when Jones’ deal expires) at a mixed cap hit of simply $18.85M — extraordinarily good worth that units the Panthers as much as proceed having the flexibleness to take care of a championship-contending roster.
Florida now has $4.9M in cap area remaining with 5 roster spots to fill, per PuckPedia. That guidelines out an extension for his or her different extremely notable UFA, winger Brad Marchand, at first look, however it will probably get inventive. The Panthers definitely received’t be capable to match high-priced multi-year presents with out offloading a wage or two, however might supply Marchand, who’s eligible for a bonus-laden one-year deal due to his age, a low base wage with simply achievable efficiency bonuses. That may permit them to initially be cap compliant with him, but when these bonuses are achieved and exceed the cap, Florida could be hit with a hefty penalty for 2026-27.
