Panthers re-sign Aaron Ekblad to eight-year contract

Another member of the growing dynasty will stay in South Florida.

The Florida Panthers are re-signing defenseman Aaron Ekblad to an eight-year contract extension. The deal will carry a $6.1 million AAV through the 2032-33 season.

TSN’s Bob McKenzie was the first to report that Ekblad was sticking around.

It’s a little bit of a pay cut for the 2015 Calder Trophy winner, as Ekblad just came to the end of his previous eight-year deal, which had a cap hit of $7.5 million dating back to the 2017-18 campaign.

There was speculation whether the longtime Panther was going to hit free agency on Tuesday, with the team having several restricted and unrestricted free agents to deal with, as well as the team inking Conn Smythe Trophy winner Sam Bennett to an eight-year, $64 million contract last week. However, it’s clear that the 29-year-old wanted to stay with the team that took him first overall in the 2014 NHL Draft.

Ekblad has been a huge part of the franchise, which included some dark days early in his career. However, like the Windsor native, the Panthers have persevered and have become one of the most feared teams in the NHL.

With Ekblad being part of a stout D-Corps, Florida has made it to the Stanley Cup Final in each of the past three seasons, winning Lord Stanley’s Cup in consecutive years, both at the expense of the Edmonton Oilers.

Ekblad has had the injury bug and a 20-game suspension for violating the league’s PED program over the past couple of seasons, playing just a combined 107 games. However, he has been able to play a key role for the Panthers during the postseason. This past year, he scored a career-best 13 points in the playoffs. It came after he scored three goals and 30 assists for 33 points in 56 games during the regular season.

In his 11 seasons with the Cats, Ekblad has appeared in 732 games, scoring 118 goals and 262 assists for 380 points, with another 33 points coming in 83 playoff games.

With the signing, the Panthers are projected to have just $4.9 million in cap space for the 2025-26 season, according to CapWages.