The Florida Panthers will be without defenceman Aaron Ekblad for their final 18 regular season games and first two playoff games after he violated the NHL/NHLPA’s performance enhancing drug program.
Ekblad’s ban is the first since the 2018-19 season when Nate Schmidt was hit with a 20-game ban of his own, while Shawn Horcoff was handed one in 2016.
In a statement, Ekblad said he failed the test after “taking something to help me recover from recent injuries without checking with proper medical and team personnel.”
“I have let my teammates, the Panthers organization and our great fans down. For that, I am truly sorry. I have accepted responsibility for my mistake and will be fully prepared to return to my team when my suspension is over. I have learned a hard lesson and cannot wait to be back with my teammates.”
Ekblad has drawn in for 56 games this year, scoring three goals and 33 points. He’s in the final year of an eight-year, $7.5-million AAV deal, set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
On Tuesday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli pondered as to when the Panthers first learned about the failed test, given their acquisition of Seth Jones on March 1st.
This is the first player in seven years to be hit with a PED suspension is certainly pretty surprising. Aaron Ekblad issued a statement through the NHLPA in which he acknowledged he wasn’t as careful as he should’ve been about putting something into his body that was designed to help him recover. And now, he’s going to have to pay the price.Lots of questions to answer about this, and I think what changes the complexion of the suspension is that the Florida Panthers went out and got what could essentially be Aaron Ekblad’s replacement in the lineup next season in Seth Jones.I’d love to know, really, the dates when the Florida Panthers first found out about the possibility of the suspension. Obviously, there’s lots that goes back and forth between parties once the positive test is confirmed, then there’s a B sample that also needs to be examined. There’s a whole lot that goes into it, but when did the Panthers know, and did they make this Seth Jones trade before that happened? If not, either way, it’s still a really interesting turn of events for the Florida Panthers.
Other news…
- Brad Marchand skated with the Florida Panthers Tuesday ahead of their game against the Boston Bruins, leading many to think he was about to make his Cats debut in the place he’s called home throughout his career. That, however, won’t be the case, as Marchand, who is dealing with an upper-body injury, was just skating with the team to go for a spin. Panthers head coach Paul Maurice, however, said they’re hopeful he will debut with the team before the end of the regular season.
- The Dallas Stars will be without Roope Hintz for up to a week after he got hit in the face with a puck in Saturday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers. Hintz didn’t suffer any fractures, but general manager Jim Nill said on the DLLS Stars podcast his first-line centre will sit to keep his heart rate down and avoid any swelling.
Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.
