After winning their second consecutive Stanley Cup Final Tuesday night, the Florida Panthers can shift their attention to a three-peat.
Of course, the Cup will first make its rounds in the players’ hometowns and take its annual voyage around the globe. But, on the business side of things, the Panthers have to address some crucial free agents.
One of those is defenseman Aaron Ekblad. The first overall pick in the 2014 Draft long failed to live up to the lofty expectations as he was neither a true No. 1 shutdown guy nor a superb offensive threat.
However, he is still an excellent top-pairing defenseman, and his tough, instigator style he adopted has been a catalyst behind the Panthers’ success.
Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic projects Ekblad, who will turn 30 next February, to earn an annual average value of $7.8 million on his upcoming deal:
“As much as my model believes Ekblad is worthy of $7.8 million on a long-term deal, it’s notable that the Florida Panthers are rumored to not agree with that notion. The Panthers are arguably the league’s best team at both pro scouting and pricing players. If they’re not as high, there’s probably a very good reason for it.”
Ekblad should seek significant term on his contract, somewhere in the 6-8 year range. At 29 years old, he is not lined up for many more long-term deals. But, as Luszczyszyn said, Florida is the best in the league at replenishing their roster, and while Ekblad is a franchise staple, he is also an expendable piece.
Just last year, the Panthers lost Cup-winning defenseman Brandon Montour and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and were perhaps even better on the back-end this season.
Neither of those two is of Ekblad’s caliber, but it goes to show how well they can reload. The Seth Jones trade from this year stands out, and with five years of team control remaining, he could theoretically slot into that No. 1 righty spot.
Florida also has to address free agents like Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand, both of whom will garner massive paydays and are arguably more valuable than Ekblad.
But, knowing the Panthers, they will probably find a way to bring everyone back on a discount.
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