Speculation: Will Aaron Ekblad be extended by Florida?

[Jean Luc Discard]

Needs to take a haircut to stay.

More like a liposuction than a haircut.

 

[I am not exposed]

It appears based on ATOI that Aaron Ekblad ('96 born RHD) has re-won the Number 1 Defenseman job for the defending Stanley Cup champions.

Ekblad will be 29 years old this Summer. Florida has four defensemen under contract for next year.

Gustav Forsling - 7 years remaining at $5.75 million AAV
Niko Mikkola - 1 year remaining at $2.25 million AAV
Dmitry Kulikov - 3 years remaining at $1.15 million AAV
Uvis Balinskis - 1 year remaining at $0.850 million AAV

Where do the Panthers and their former 1st overall selection stand in terms of a potential contract extension?

Nope.

 

[BB88]

That's an absurdly low number for him. He could easily get 7.5m+ on the open market.

The problem is Forsling is better and Ekblad is a high risk signing

& Forsling just signed one of the best value contracts in the league

 

[kerrabria]

Ekblad is third among Panthers defensemen in EV TOI, and advanced stats show he's clearly the junior partner on the top pair.

 

[CanadienShark]

The problem is Forsling is better and Ekblad is a high risk signing

& Forsling just signed one of the best value contracts in the league

Sure, I agree that Forsling is better. His contract was a massive "wtf" moment. Not every player wants to sign for under market value, especially to take a massive pay decrease on what could potentially be the biggest deal of his career though. Market for a player like Ekblad will push the price well over $7m.

 

[NyQuil]

I’d be impressed if they didn’t.

A little short-term pain could offset a lot of long-term pain.

Like Stamkos, being honest can be cruel but ultimately beneficial.

 

[BB88]

Sure, I agree that Forsling is better. His contract was a massive "wtf" moment. Not every player wants to sign for under market value, especially to take a massive pay decrease on what could potentially be the biggest deal of his career though. Market for a player like Ekblad will push the price well over $7m.

Sure from the market but if he wants to stay in Florida how can he go on the table and demand 2M more than their best Dman (who’s the same age)?

Barkov set the team 1st mentality in Florida, if Ekblad wants market value off the market you go.
Whoever signs him to that contract good luck

 

[Voodoo Glow Skulls]

I think Florida lets him walk.

 

[CanadienShark]

Sure from the market but if he wants to stay in Florida how can he go on the table and demand 2M more than their best Dman (who’s the same age)?

Barkov set the team 1st mentality in Florida, if Ekblad wants market value off the market you go.
Whoever signs him to that contract good luck

He's not going to take a $2m pay cut while in his 20s for his last big deal. No #1D is worth anything in the $5-6m range, let alone top pairing or even #3, so Florida can't simply point to Forsling and suggest that's the market rate.

 

[WaitingForThatCab]

I don't know what the player wants, and I don't know what management is thinking, so I genuinely have no idea what's going to happen.

What I do know is that if I were the person making the decisions for the Florida Panthers, I would only re-sign him to a long term deal if it involved a real and significant pay cut. I love the guy, I consider myself a fan, but his legs are SHOT. That contract is going to be bad in four years no matter how much or how little you're paying him.

If some team wants to offer him 8Mx7Y, then good luck, dudes. That contact is gonna be a disaster.

 

[Chaos2k7]

5 for 25

6, 6, 5, 4, 4

He will be a #4 by the time it ends

 

[Gurglesons]

if they keep him they are morons.

they won the cup despite him.

 

[KrisLetAngry]

Taking the same salary number would be a % cut by him. That seems fair.

 

[benfranklin]

I bet yes.

 

[Ratsreign]

He's not going to take a $2m pay cut while in his 20s for his last big deal. No #1D is worth anything in the $5-6m range, let alone top pairing or even #3, so Florida can't simply point to Forsling and suggest that's the market rate.

They won’t try to say it’s the “market rate”, they’ll say this is what we can give you... if Ekblad wants more then he can go elsewhere and get it.

 

[HockeyVirus]

Hope he gets the MacAvoy contract or higher from them

 

[CanadienShark]

They won’t try to say it’s the “market rate”, they’ll say this is what we can give you... if Ekblad wants more then he can go elsewhere and get it.

That's fair. I think he'll move on.

 

[Ratsreign]

That's fair. I think he'll move on.

Idk. Reinhart left quite a bit on the table in order to stay, while Montour cashed in.
Money isn’t the only consideration.

 

[WTFMAN99]

I’d be impressed if they didn’t.

A little short-term pain could offset a lot of long-term pain.

Like Stamkos, being honest can be cruel but ultimately beneficial.

Such a true statement.

Hoping the Leafs are able to do this with JT, move on.

 

[dgibb10]

Sure from the market but if he wants to stay in Florida how can he go on the table and demand 2M more than their best Dman (who’s the same age)?

Barkov set the team 1st mentality in Florida, if Ekblad wants market value off the market you go.
Whoever signs him to that contract good luck

The problem is what does Florida do if he leaves.

Where do they plan to find this top pairing RHD replacement?

 

[ucanthanzalthetruth]

If Ekblad wants more than Forsling he's gone. If he takes a discount I could see him staying. But I have a feeling he's a strong candidate for the worst UFA signing in 2025 from another team that gives him 7.5 x 7. He is an atrocious skater, has poor conditioning, and gets a knee injury every March (it's a meme at this point). Even at a hometown discount I have nightmares of watching Ekblad years 5-8 lol. he is good though. It can't be overstated how much Forsling saves him on the 1st pair, I still can't believe he was a waiver pickup.

 

[Gurglesons]

If Ekblad wants more than Forsling he's gone. If he takes a discount I could see him staying. But I have a feeling he's a strong candidate for the worst UFA signing in 2025 from another team that gives him 7.5 x 7. He is an atrocious skater, has poor conditioning, and gets a knee injury every March (it's a meme at this point). Even at a hometown discount I have nightmares of watching Ekblad years 5-8 lol. he is good though. It can't be overstated how much Forsling saves him on the 1st pair, I still can't believe he was a waiver pickup.

I feel like Ekblad goes to Toronto and is an absolute trainwreck for them on a like 9.5 mil x 7 year deal.

 

[BKarchitect]

I feel like Ekblad goes to Toronto and is an absolute trainwreck for them on a like 9.5 mil x 7 year deal.

Not even Treliving is that stupid….right…?

Ekblad is still a solid service defenseman; it’s actually commendable that he’s reigned his game in to become a safer if somewhat blunted version of what he was prior to getting his legs shredded. As the Panthers are proving, in the right situation, with the right partner, he is capable of putting in good minutes for a winning cause. If he takes a lower deal if absolutely think the Panthers would keep him.

But surely nobody can watch him lumber about and occasionally get wrecked by speedy forwards and say to themselves “here’s a guy as he gets older I want to invest in like a top pairing defenseman”.

 

[Gurglesons]

Not even Treliving is that stupid….right…?

Ekblad is still a solid service defenseman; it’s actually commendable that he’s reigned his game in to become a safer if somewhat blunted version of what he was prior to getting his legs shredded. As the Panthers are proving, in the right situation, with the right partner, he is capable of putting in good minutes for a winning cause. If he takes a lower deal if absolutely think the Panthers would keep him.

But surely nobody can watch him lumber about and occasionally get wrecked by speedy forwards and say to themselves “here’s a guy as he gets older I want to invest in like a top pairing defenseman”.

I mean he'd be the youngest long term contract on their team D! LOL

 

[Sota Popinski]

The problem is what does Florida do if he leaves.

Where do they plan to find this top pairing RHD replacement?

He's not a top pairing level RHD at this point. He hasn't been for a couple years. Paying him 7+ million for his 29-35 seasons would be pretty unwise. They can find a free agent replacement or trade for someone like Vegas does