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Aaron Ekblad

Position	Right Defense	Current Team	Florida Panthers
Shoots	Right	Current Contract	8 years
Height	6'4"	Expires	2032-33
Weight (lbs)	220	Expiry Age (Jun 30)	37
Age	29 (Feb 7, 1996)	Expiry Status	UFA
Drafted	2014, Round 1, Overall 1 (FLA)

Date	Team	Transaction
Jun 30, 2025	Florida Panthers	Signed 8 years @ $6.100M AAV starting in 2025-26
May 6, 2025	Florida Panthers	Suspension Ended
Apr 29, 2025	Florida Panthers	Suspension Started
Apr 25, 2025	Florida Panthers	Suspension Ended
Mar 10, 2025	Florida Panthers	Suspension Started
Jul 1, 2016	Florida Panthers	Signed 8 years @ $7.500M AAV starting in 2017-18
Sep 7, 2014	Florida Panthers	Signed to an entry level contract.

Status History Coming Soon

2025-26 Player Card

URL: https://www.thestanleycap.com/cdn/player_cards/20252026/aaron-ekblad-8477932.png

2024-25 Player Card

URL: https://www.thestanleycap.com/cdn/player_cards/20242025/aaron-ekblad-8477932.png

2023-24 Player Card

URL: https://www.thestanleycap.com/cdn/player_cards/20232024/aaron-ekblad-8477932.png

About Player Cards

Player cards present an infographic of a players performance. In this case it shows the player performance over a 3 season span. Each square is separated into three separate sub-boxes with the two smaller boxes on top representing the past two seasons and the larger box on the bottom representing the current or most recent season. This allows the reader to guage how consistent a player has been, and if early in the season it can help identify whether a players performance may be impacted by small sample size and subject to regression or is consistent with recent past performance.

Notes and Definitions

The numbers represent percentiles so the higher the better.
Percentiles are determined by comparing Forwards to Forwards and Defensemen to Defensemen.
Bursts/mi are calculated from NHL Edge Data are are speed bursts above 20mpg per mile skated. The NHL doesn't adjust for ice time so the players that skate more will naturally have more bursts over 20, or at least more opportunity to have more. The NHL also does not provide ice time in the context of NHL Edge Statistics, however, it does provide distance skated. By adjusting for distance skated it will have a similar effect to adjusting for ice time but also adjust for situationional effect. For example, Players don't typically skate as much on the PK, mostly within the defensive zone, so don't get significant opportunity in that ice time to get speed bursts above 20mph. Adjusting with miles skates would account for this better than adjusting with ice time.
Sh%AE is Shooting Percentage above Expected (Sh% - xSh%) and is an indicator of how good a shooter is at converting chances into goals.
Relative statistics are On Ice - Off Ice statistics and can be an indicator of whether the player makes his teammates better or worse.
All data is 5v5 except Shooting Hardest and Average, Skating Top Speed and Bursts/mi which are all situations, ES Average which is even strength (NHL doesn't give a specific definition).

Data Sources

Salary data is from TheStanleyCap.com
Shooting and Skating (except Sh%AE) are from NHL Edge
Other statistics are from Puckalytics.com and derived from data from NHL.com

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5v5 Individual Stats

Season	Team(s)	GP	TOI	G/60	A/60	Pts/60	xG/60	GAE/60	Sh%	xSh%	Sh%AE	%SA Rush	%SA Reb.
2015-16	FLA	78	1303:36	0.41	0.60	1.01	0.25	0.17	7.56	4.49	3.07	1.26	2.52
2016-17	FLA	68	1117:41	0.21	0.38	0.59	0.29	-0.08	2.78	3.82	-1.04	1.08	3.76
2017-18	FLA	82	1413:50	0.38	0.47	0.85	0.30	0.08	7.09	5.65	1.44	0.51	3.05
2018-19	FLA	82	1470:21	0.29	0.57	0.86	0.22	0.07	5.69	4.34	1.35	1.23	1.23
2019-20	FLA	67	1163:07	0.21	1.29	1.50	0.29	-0.08	3.57	5.03	-1.46	1.41	1.41
2020-21	FLA	35	591:54	0.41	0.41	0.81	0.29	0.11	7.41	5.35	2.06	0.00	2.63
2021-22	FLA	61	1039:25	0.58	1.10	1.67	0.29	0.29	8.40	4.18	4.23	0.67	4.70
2022-23	FLA	71	1139:47	0.21	0.58	0.79	0.33	-0.12	3.10	4.90	-1.80	0.58	5.81
2023-24	FLA	51	781:44	0.23	0.46	0.69	0.22	0.01	4.41	4.28	0.13	0.00	1.92
2024-25	FLA	56	966:06	0.19	0.93	1.12	0.19	-0.00	4.17	4.27	-0.11	0.00	2.31
2025-26	FLA	22	357:56	0.00	0.84	0.84	0.15	-0.15	0.00	3.80	-3.80	0.00	2.86

5v5 On Ice Stats

Season	Team(s)	GP	TOI	SAF/60	GF/60	xGF/60	SAA/60	GA/60	xGA/60	GF%	xGF%	xGF Rel	xGA Rel	xGF% Rel
2015-16	FLA	78	1303:36	38.25	2.58	2.17	37.28	1.93	2.15	57.14	50.23	-0.05	-0.11	0.76
2016-17	FLA	68	1117:41	43.80	1.61	2.32	42.25	2.52	2.46	38.96	48.54	0.11	0.10	0.17
2017-18	FLA	82	1413:50	46.30	2.93	2.54	49.27	2.76	2.90	51.49	46.64	0.06	0.58	-4.91
2018-19	FLA	82	1470:21	43.09	3.26	2.52	44.11	3.35	2.72	49.38	48.08	0.29	0.38	-0.71
2019-20	FLA	67	1163:07	44.42	3.40	2.64	37.45	2.32	2.31	59.46	53.26	0.40	-0.26	6.79
2020-21	FLA	35	591:54	41.87	2.23	2.51	35.88	1.82	1.97	55.00	56.07	0.04	-0.21	2.98
2021-22	FLA	61	1039:25	50.68	3.81	3.28	35.33	2.19	2.27	63.46	59.08	0.25	-0.31	5.05
2022-23	FLA	71	1139:47	48.22	2.74	3.05	43.48	3.11	2.89	46.85	51.32	0.03	0.19	-1.39
2023-24	FLA	51	781:44	48.81	2.53	2.83	39.37	1.23	2.28	67.35	55.33	0.23	-0.01	2.16
2024-25	FLA	56	966:06	50.55	2.67	2.70	41.61	2.11	2.44	55.84	52.52	0.24	0.48	-3.20
2025-26	FLA	22	357:56	42.41	2.51	2.51	38.72	2.68	2.38	48.39	51.28	-0.06	0.26	-3.50

NHL Edge Stats

		Skating				Shooting					Zone Time
Season	GP	Top Speed	Bursts>20/mi	Avg. Speed	ES Avg. Speed	Top Speed	Avg. Speed	%Long Range	%Mid Range	%High Danger	ES DZ%	ES NZ%	ES OZ%
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Legend

Percentile 0-25

Percentile 25-50

Percentile 50-75

Percentile 75-100

Forwards are compared with forwards and Defensemen are are compared with Defensemen.

5v5 Defense Pairs

Season

Season	Teammate	Team	TOI	GF/60	GA/60	GF%	xGF/60	xGA/60	xGF%	xGF Rel	xGA Rel	xGF% Rel
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Glossary

Type	Statistic	Definition
Individual	G/60	Goals Against per 60 minutes.
Individual	A/60	Assists per 60 minutes.
Individual	Pts/60	Points per 60 minutes.
Individual	xG/60	Expected Goals per 60 minutes.
Individual	GAE/60	Goals Above Expected (G/60 - xG/60).
Individual	Sh%	Shooting Percentage.
Individual	xSh%	Expected Shooting Percentage.
Individual	Sh%AE	Shooting percentage above expected (Sh% - xSh%).
Individual	%SA Rush	Percentage of shot attempts determined to be on the rush.
Individual	%SA Reb.	Percentage of shot attempts determined to be from rebounds.
On Ice	SAF/60	Shot Attempts For per 60 minutes.
On Ice	GF/60	Goals For per 60 minutes.
On Ice	xGF/60	Expected Goals For per 60 minutes.
On Ice	SAA/60	Shot Attempts Against per 60 minutes (lower is better).
On Ice	GA/60	Goals Against per 60 minutes (lower is better).
On Ice	xGA/60	Expected Goals Against per 60 minutes (lower is better).
On Ice	GF%	Goals For Percentage = Goals For / (Goals For + Goals Against)
On Ice	xGF%	Expected Goals For Percentage = Expected Goals For / (Expected Goals For + Expected Goals Against)
On Ice	xGF Rel	xGF/60 when On Ice - xGF/60 when not On Ice.
On Ice	xGA Rel	xGA/60 when On Ice - xGA/60 when not On Ice (lower is better).
On Ice	xGF% Rel	xGF% when On Ice - xGF% when not On Ice.

Individual and On-Ice stats from Puckalytics.com (starting in 2015-16). NHL Edge Stats from edge.nhl.com (starting in 2021-22). Edge statistic definitions can be found at the Edge Stats Glossary.

News and Opinions

Aaron Ekblad Avoids Injury; Will Suit Up On Friday For Panthers at Yahoo Sports NHL (Thu Nov 27, 2025)
Three takeaways: Tarasov shines in relief after rough night for Bobrovsky, Balinskis fills in well for Ekblad at Yahoo Sports NHL (Sun Nov 23, 2025)
2014 NHL Draft Top 10: Where Are They Now? at The Hockey Writers (Mon Nov 10, 2025)
Three NHL Players Who Took Discounts On New Deals In Recent Years at The Hockey News (Thu Oct 9, 2025)
Penalties consume Panthers preseason-ending win over Tampa; Aaron Ekblad leaves game early at Yahoo Sports NHL (Sat Oct 4, 2025)
Panthers top blue liner opens up about re-upping in Florida at The Rat Trick (Wed Aug 27, 2025)
Why Aaron Ekblad was never going to the Red Wings at Octopus Thrower (Mon Aug 18, 2025)
Red Wings Offer to Ekblad, McDavid Extension & More NHL Rumours at The Hockey Writers (Sat Aug 16, 2025)
Aaron Ekblad should be the last Florida Panthers player to wear No. 5 at Yahoo Sports NHL (Sat Aug 16, 2025)
Les Red Wings se préparaient à formuler une offre importante pour Aaron Ekblad at HABSolument Fan (Thu Aug 14, 2025)
Panthers players Aaron Ekblad, Carter Verhaeghe make appearance on Good Morning America at Yahoo Sports NHL (Sat Aug 9, 2025)
Deen’s Daily: Potential Kadri Destinations; Ekblad Talks Contract Extension; Mueller’s Retirement at Colorado Hockey Now (Mon Jul 28, 2025)
Positives & Concerns For Panthers' Extensions Of Marchand & Ekblad at The Rat Trick (Tue Jul 1, 2025)
Red Wings have new problems to deal with after the Panthers’ busy Monday at Octopus Thrower (Tue Jul 1, 2025)
LA Kings would love if Vladislav Gavrikov agreed to team-friendly deal like Ekblad at Rink Royalty (Mon Jun 30, 2025)
Red Wings could land Aaron Ekblad (and that might just be the start) at Octopus Thrower (Sun Jun 29, 2025)
Florida Panthers Could Sacrifice Ekblad to Sign Bennett, Marchand at The Rat Trick (Wed Jun 25, 2025)
Looking at the Panthers 2025 Offseason at The Puck Under the Sun (Mon Jun 23, 2025)
How these two playoff performances can help Senators sign this Panthers defenseman at SenShot (Mon Jun 16, 2025)
3 Sabres dream free agent signings to win the Stanley Cup in 2026 at Sabres Noise (Wed Jun 4, 2025)
Aaron Ekblad: Stop Underestimating His Worth at The Rat Trick (Fri May 23, 2025)
Panthers vs. Hurricanes Game 2 Preview: How To Watch, Odds, Injuries, Notes, and Keys at The Rat Trick (Wed May 21, 2025)
Panthers hand Maple Leafs an embarassing Game 5 beatdown at The Rat Trick (Wed May 14, 2025)

Current Contract

Aaron Ekblad signed an $48,800,000 8-year contract with the Florida Panthers and General Manager Bill Zito on June 30, 2025 with an AAV of $6,100,000. This contract will start in 2025-26 and end after the 2032-33 season. In the first season of the contract the cap hit was equivalent to 6.39% of the salary cap.

Standard Contract (UFA) ( ) (0 ratings)

Season	Age*	Clause	Cap Hit	AAV	Perf. Bonus	Sign. Bonus	Salary	Compensation	Minors Salary	Status
2025-26	29	NMC	$6,100,000	$6,100,000	-	$6,900,000	$1,000,000	$7,900,000	$7,900,000	UFA
2026-27	30	NMC	$6,100,000	$6,100,000	-	$6,900,000	$1,000,000	$7,900,000	$7,900,000	UFA
2027-28	31	NMC	$6,100,000	$6,100,000	-	$6,900,000	$1,000,000	$7,900,000	$7,900,000	UFA
2028-29	32	NMC	$6,100,000	$6,100,000	-	$5,140,000	$1,000,000	$6,140,000	$6,140,000	UFA
2029-30	33	NMC	$6,100,000	$6,100,000	-	$3,740,000	$1,000,000	$4,740,000	$4,740,000	UFA
2030-31	34	NMC	$6,100,000	$6,100,000	-	$3,740,000	$1,000,000	$4,740,000	$4,740,000	UFA
2031-32	35	M-NTC	$6,100,000	$6,100,000	-	$3,740,000	$1,000,000	$4,740,000	$4,740,000	UFA
2032-33	36	M-NTC	$6,100,000	$6,100,000	-	$3,740,000	$1,000,000	$4,740,000	$4,740,000	UFA
Total					-	$40,800,000	$8,000,000	$48,800,000	$48,800,000

Signed: June 30, 2025

Team: Florida Panthers

GM: Bill Zito

Exp. Status: UFA

Cap %: 6.39

Clause: Player can submit a 16 team no trade list for 2031-32 and 2032-33.

Previous Contracts (show) (hide)

Aaron Ekblad signed an $60,000,000 8-year contract with the Florida Panthers and General Manager Tom Rowe on July 1, 2016 with an AAV of $7,500,000. This contract will start in 2017-18 and end after the 2024-25 season. In the first season of the contract the cap hit was equivalent to 10.00% of the salary cap.

Standard Contract (RFA) ( ) (0 ratings)

Season	Age*	Clause	Cap Hit	AAV	Perf. Bonus	Sign. Bonus	Salary	Compensation	Minors Salary	Status
2017-18	21	NMC	$7,500,000	$7,500,000	-	$5,000,000	$4,000,000	$9,000,000	$9,000,000	RFA
2018-19	22	NMC	$7,500,000	$7,500,000	-	$3,000,000	$4,000,000	$7,000,000	$7,000,000	RFA-arb
2019-20	23	NMC	$7,500,000	$7,500,000	-	$4,000,000	$5,000,000	$9,000,000	$9,000,000	RFA-arb
2020-21	24	NMC	$7,500,000	$7,500,000	-	$4,000,000	$2,000,000	$6,000,000	$6,000,000	RFA-arb
2021-22	25	NMC	$7,500,000	$7,500,000	-	$3,000,000	$6,000,000	$9,000,000	$9,000,000	UFA
2022-23	26	NMC	$7,500,000	$7,500,000	-	$4,000,000	$2,000,000	$6,000,000	$6,000,000	UFA
2023-24	27	NMC	$7,500,000	$7,500,000	-	$3,000,000	$4,000,000	$7,000,000	$7,000,000	UFA
2024-25	28	M-NTC	$7,500,000	$7,500,000	-	$3,000,000	$4,000,000	$7,000,000	$7,000,000	UFA
Total					-	$29,000,000	$31,000,000	$60,000,000	$60,000,000

Signed: July 1, 2016

Team: Florida Panthers

GM: Tom Rowe

Exp. Status: UFA

Cap %: 10.0

Clause: For 2024-25 player can specify 12 teams which he cannot be traded to.

Aaron Ekblad signed a $2,775,000 3-year contract with the Florida Panthers and General Manager Dale Tallon on September 7, 2014 with an AAV of $925,000. This contract will start in 2014-15 and end after the 2016-17 season. In the first season of the contract the cap hit was equivalent to 1.34% of the salary cap.

Entry Level Contract ( ) (0 ratings)

Season	Age*	Cap Hit	AAV	Perf. Bonus	Sign. Bonus	Salary	Compensation	Minors Salary	Status
2014-15	18	$925,000	$3,775,000	$2,850,000	$92,500	$832,500	$925,000	$70,000	ELC
2015-16	19	$925,000	$3,775,000	$2,850,000	$92,500	$832,500	$925,000	$70,000	ELC
2016-17	20	$925,000	$3,775,000	$2,850,000	$92,500	$832,500	$925,000	$70,000	ELC
Total				$8,550,000	$277,500	$2,497,500	$2,775,000	$210,000

Signed: Sep 7, 2014

Team: Florida Panthers

GM: Dale Tallon

Exp. Status: RFA

Career Statistics

			Regular Season									Playoffs
Season	League	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	Shots	Sh%	TOI/G	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	Shots	Sh%	TOI/G
2010-11	Exhib.	Sun County	14	5	7	12		18
2010-11	Minor-ON	Sun County	30	4	30	34		34				18	5	16	21		14
2011-12	OHL	Barrie	63	10	19	29	-5	34				13	2	3	5	-1	8
2012-13	OHL	Barrie	54	7	27	34	+29	64				22	7	10	17	+11	28
2013-14	OHL	Barrie	58	23	30	53	+9	91				9	2	4	6	-4	14
2014-15	NHL	Florida Panthers	81	12	27	39	+12	32	170	7.1	21:49
2014-15	WC-A	Canada	10	4	3	7	+10	6	11
2015-16	NHL	Florida Panthers	78	15	21	36	+18	41	182	8.2	21:41	6		1	1			14	0.0	25:37
2016-17	NHL	Florida Panthers	68	10	11	21	-23	58	225	4.4	21:28
2016-17	WCup	Team North America	1	0	0	0
2017-18	NHL	Florida Panthers	82	16	22	38	+9	71	189	8.5	23:23
2017-18	WC	Canada	10	1	5	6	+5	6
2018-19	NHL	Florida Panthers	82	13	24	37	+1	47	180	7.2	23:39
2019-20	NHL	Florida Panthers	67	5	36	41	+12	26	147	3.4	22:59	4					2	10	0.0	25:13
2020-21	NHL	Florida Panthers	35	11	11	22	+5	33	101	10.9	25:05
2021-22	NHL	Florida Panthers	61	15	42	57	+38	26	180	8.3	24:55	10	1	4	5	-2	11	23	4.3	23:51
2022-23	NHL	Florida Panthers	71	14	24	38	-14	68	216	6.5	23:24	20	2	6	8	+9	20	26	7.7	23:57
2023-24	NHL	Florida Panthers	51	4	14	18	+27	50	98	4.1	20:52	24	1	5	6	+4	16	33	3.0	22:33
2024-25	NHL	Florida Panthers	56	3	30	33	+11	53	106	2.8	23:31	19	4	9	13	+10	38	36	11.1	24:00
2025-26	NHL	Florida Panthers	23	1	6	7	-2	14	36	2.8	22:40
NHL Career			755	119	268	387	+94	519	1830	6.5	22:53	83	8	25	33	+21	87	142	5.6	23:44