Aaron Ekblad's Panthers Future Takes a Surprising Turn
Photo credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
Pending free agent Aaron Ekblad's future with Florida may not be as certain as some thought as NHL Insider Frank Seravalli thinks the Panthers won't be able to keep him.
Although he's celebrating the second straight Stanley Cup of his career, Aaron Ekblad only has a few weeks to go before he needs to make a decision about his future.
Whether it's still in Florida or somewhere else, a lot of debate has come up regarding his price and where he fits best. Some reports had Ekblad staying put in Florida, but now that's not so certain.
Florida may not be able to afford Aaron Ekblad
Although it would be great if the Panthers could keep everyone that just helped them to their second straight Cup, that might not be feasible given they need to re-sign Sam Bennett long-term, plus they've got some smaller names to give contracts too plus potentially extend Sergei Bobrovsky.
But NHL Insider Frank Seravalli believes all of those factors are going to make it a very unlikely outcome that Ekblad stays in town.
It will be very difficult for the Panthers to keep pending UFA defenseman Aaron Ekblad
It comes as another report of Ekblad either staying or going, and until he actually puts pen to paper we won't know what exactly is going down.
But there is some hope for teams looking to bring him aboard, and one frontrunner this summer are the Toronto Maple Leafs, so they'll take all the hope they can get.
How Toronto can persuade Aaron Ekblad to play for Maple Leafs
Well, besides paying him a lot of money, they can give Ekblad the reins to run the defense and hand over Morgan Rielly's duties to a frankly, better player.
Florida did him a bit dirty acquiring Seth Jones, a player who could possibly be seen as his replacement, and he may feel a bit slighted by his long-time team.
What better way to stick it to them than to come over to Toronto and help stomp out the Panthers next year?
Fully committing to him financially and on the ice is going to be a big factor, and the fact they can offer a ton of incentives and endorsements on top of a $7.5-8M salary is extremely enticing.
Plus, they might be in the mix for Brad Marchand, and bringing him along would give Ekblad a bit of familiarity when it comes to getting acclimated.
Ekblad, 29, has been fantastic since being drafted first overall in 2014. In 732 games he has 380 points (118G, 262A) with 739 blocks, 839 hits and 505 PIM.
Plus, his 33 points in the playoffs would put him only a handful of points behind Rielly, with a lot more accomplishments under his belt.
It won't be easy to bring him on, but if the Florida Panthers really can't afford Aaron Ekblad this summer; Toronto certainly should do whatever it takes to get him.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 19 | 621 ANSWERS Aaron Ekblad's Panthers Future Takes a Surprising Turn Do you think Toronto has a chance to sign Aaron Ekblad? | ||
| Yes | 337 | 54.3 % |
| No | 284 | 45.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
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