The Florida Panthers have done a remarkable job building a roster that will keep the team contending for the Stanley Cup for years to come.
That’s coming on the heels of back-to-back Stanley Cup victories and three straight Final appearances.
With such a formidable roster that’s locked up for the foreseeable future, THN Florida has been examining current Panthers players who could someday find their jersey numbers hanging in the rafters.
Today we’ll take a look at a man who has only played for the Panthers, and who could very well end up staying with Florida for the entirety of his career.
We’re talking about defenseman Aaron Ekblad.
Florida selected Ekblad with the first overall selection at the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. He was only the second player that the Panthers have ever taken number one in the draft, following defenseman Ed Jovanovski, who was taken all the way back in 1994.
Ekblad immediately started at the NHL level with the Panthers as a fresh faced 18-year-old, putting up an impressive 12 goals and 39 points during his rookie campaign.
Most Panthers fans probably have to do a double take when realizing that Ekblad, despite already having played 11 seasons in the NHL, is still only 29 years old.
As he prepares to enter his 12th year with the Cats, Ekblad finds himself climbing the charts on several of Florida’s all-time statistical categories.
In terms of games played, Ekblad’s 732 only trail fellow Panthers lifer Sasha Barkov, who came into the league one year before Ekblad and has played 804 games with the Cats.
Regarding defensemen, Ekblad leads all Florida blueliners in goals, assists, games played, points, shots, power play goals and game-winning goals.
He’s third on Florida’s all-time assists list, behind Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau, and fifth in total points, trailing Barkov, Huberdeau, Olli Jokinen and Stephen Weiss.
Last month, Ekblad signed an eight-year extension with the Panthers that will keep him in South Florida through the 2022-23 NHL season.
That means by the time he hangs up his skates, Ekblad will hold team defensive records that could stand for a long, long time.
Ekblad made it very clear in the time leading up to the offseason that despite being an unrestricted free agent, his only intent was to re-sign with Florida, and he took less money in order to do so.
It’s hard to imagine after playing nearly two full decades in a Panthers sweater, that Ekblad wouldn’t be immortalized in the franchise’s history by having his number retired.
He’s already carved out a special place for himself in team history, and that legend is only going to grow as he plays out his deal on a team that should continue competing for Stanley Cups.
Ekblad may not get as much credit for it as he deserves, but this guy is as ‘Panthers’ as anyone has been in the team’s history.
He deserves recognition for it, and someday, the team will likely make sure he absolutely gets it.
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Photo caption: Jan 26, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad (5) warms up before a game against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena. (Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images)
