A former first-overall pick has been placed on the LTIR following a brutal injury.
Ekblad Placed On LTIR
The Florida Panthers open their season today but will have a core piece missing long-term. They worked out their opening night lineup recently and made some moves that required them to place 2014 1st overall pick Aaron Ekblad on the LTIR.
With Sam Bennett in a boot and slated to miss Thursday's season-opener against the Minnesota Wild, the Florida Panthers have recalled rookie forward Justin Sourdif.
In order to facilitate the move salary cap-wise, the Panthers placed defenseman Aaron Ekblad on long term injury reserve.
Eklbad has had an interesting career thus far as he has been a great player for the majority of his career but never quite the superstar you want in a 1st overall pick. Given his longevity being a strong player, it would be a disservice to call his selection a bust so it is widely considered to be a solid pick.
Last year Eklbad scored 38 points in 71 games and he helped the Panthers make the Stanley Cup finals.
He will miss out on a large chunk of the season but he is still planning on helping the Panthers gear up for a deep playoff run this year.