NHL
Defenseman Aaron Ekblad signs an eight-year deal with a $6.1 million AAV with the Florida Panthers.
Harman Dayal: Ekblad’s passionate rant about what it meant to him to be a Florida Panther during the Stanley Cup Final foreshadowed his willingness to take a sweetheart discount. The 29-year-old’s $6.1 million cap hit is a notable decrease from the $7.5 million AAV on his expiring contract. $6.1 million for a top-pairing right-shot defender is a very team-friendly number, especially in a skyrocketing cap climate where player salaries are rapidly inflating. It’s only $600,000 higher than what Nic Hague, a 17-minute per game No. 4/5 defenseman, signed for in Nashville yesterday. It’s less than what Alex Romanov re-signed for with the Islanders.
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Ekblad isn’t a perfect player. His foot speed can be an issue at times. Durability is often a question mark — he’s missed more than 25 percent of the regular season in four of the last five years (though this year was PED suspension-related). But overall, he’s a two-way beast on the blue line. Ekblad eats massive all-situations minutes and wins very tough matchup assignments. He contributes secondary offense and is rock-solid defensively in high-leverage minutes. And for the faults Ekblad does have, like his so-so foot speed, D partner Gustav Forsling’s speedy defensive tools and puck-moving ability are the perfect stylistic complement to compensate.
During this year’s Stanley Cup win, Ekblad averaged 23:59 per game and scored 13 points in 19 games. The Panthers controlled nearly 58 percent of scoring chances and 61 percent of goals with Ekblad on the ice at five-on-five.
The win here for Ekblad was securing eight years of term, which no other team could have offered. That security is significant considering all the injuries he’s suffered in his career. Ekblad is guaranteed $48.8 million of total compensation on this contract. AFP Analytics projected that he would have gotten $7.8 million annually on a seven-year deal in free agency, which equates to a total of $54.6 million. That’s an extra $5.8 million in total value compared to what Ekblad actually signed for, but the perfect fit in Florida clearly outweighed the modest bump in total compensation he would have received on the open market.
Contract grade: A-
Shayna Goldman: The Ekblad extension does two things: It adds more fuel to the tax advantage fire and it locks up another Panthers core player at a team-friendly price.
Yes, Ekblad benefits from playing in the state of Florida. His take-home pay is better than it would be anywhere else, and the Panthers don’t have to compensate extra for that. It’s a part of the equation in the grand scheme of things. But that likely isn’t the driving force behind this cost-effective contract. It’s the fact that he gets to be a part of something really special in Florida.
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Ekblad played through some tough seasons in Sunrise until the team became playoff-caliber, a contender, and now a back-to-back champion. The team has shown a complete and total commitment to winning, and that buy-in trickles down from ownership to the locker room. So, while other teams could offer more, why would he leave that? Maybe in different surroundings, he could put together all of his skills a little differently to become a star defenseman. But the payoff is staying with the team that drafted him first overall back in 2014, in a situation he clearly knows agrees with him, with a strong chance to win the Stanley Cup again. And that third ring wouldn’t just be another championship, it would solidify the Panthers as a dynasty. That can be worth taking the hometown discount for.
From the team perspective, the Panthers know how to get the best out of Ekblad. He may not be a true number one defenseman, but he is a key cog in Florida’s top-four. Ekblad can provide steady defense in tough minutes, and while he isn’t the driver of Florida’s offense, he clicks well with the dynamic forward group there.
Between all of his strengths and his flaws, he is a known commodity versus an unknown UFA that management has to hope will mesh with their group. Just think about how the team experimented last year to replace Brandon Montour, which eventually led to the Seth Jones trade. So that takes some of the risk out of a long-term signing, especially in this market, where a top-four right-handed defenseman was never going to come in at this price point.
The wild card is how he ages. That was going to be a concern anywhere Ekblad signed long-term. And some of his comps show why there’s reason to worry, from Christian Ehroff, Jason Garrison, to Brent Seabrook. Even if his game falls off a cliff down the line (which isn’t projected to be the case — he is projected to be worth more than his $6.1 million cap hit in seven of eight years of this deal), it will be after Florida’s window closes, anyway. On the flip side, some comps paint a much more encouraging picture, like Mattias Ekholm and Alex Pietrangelo. Ekholm may be the best blueprint for Ekblad, as a fellow number-two defenseman with a strong all-around game.
Contract grade: A-
(Photo: Carmen Mandato / Getty Images)
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