Aaron Ekblad

[Legion34]

They have 21ish million of cap space for next season without making a single move. They don't need to trade Ekblad at all to make it all work.

Are they going to spend to the cap?

 

[Beezeral]

Are they going to spend to the cap?

Yes

 

[The Moose is Loose]

This was a bounceback year for him, but I don't think he'll ever be a true #1D or live up to his contract.

Kinda of like Erik Johnson in a lot of ways

 

[Dustin]

Kids 23. He's certainly had his problems with injuries but he still has plenty of time to develop into a top tier defenceman.

 

[Golden Puppers]

Kinda of like Erik Johnson in a lot of ways

You know, that's a pretty good comparison. I like EJ and think he's been a bit underrated for his career. He's obviously a tier or two below the Drew Doughty's/Erik Karlsson's/Duncan Keith's of the league, and maybe Ekblad will be too. But if he can have a career and impact like EJ, I think Florida might be okay.

 

[Gizmo Tkachuk]

This was considered a bounce-back year for him compared to the past couple seasons following his concussions. He was a +1 on a team full of minuses.

That being said, the main thing that keeps from being a true #1 is his skating.

 

[FinlandPanther]

Wow some of the takes here lmao. Is he a #1? No. Is he a good #2 absolutely. Needs to improve skating but overall defensively he’s been good. Gets wrecked every now and then Becuase of skating but if that improves watch out.

 

[StreetHawk]

Are they going to spend to the cap?

Sound alike they will. Cap friendly has them at $62 mill committed to 8F, 6D, and 2G. Need 7 skaters to hit the 23 man roster with $21 million.

If they are adding the big 2, that’s about $17-$18 million right there. But if they go after Bob they need to move a goalie.

 

[Panthers Propaganda]

Some awful takes in here lol. Pretty clear who actually watches the Panthers, and who circle jerks a few talking points. 2016-2017 was disastrous for him but that’s the only season he has been a minus.

Could of flirted with 20 goals this year, had a couple disallowed, many posts. Was our only + Defenseman under Boughner and Capuano’s terrible system and just turned 23. He also took on the most minutes and the bulk of PK responsibility.

Concussions have not set him back as many as others seem to think. And going into the future he will be a fine top pairing D man.

If you can get a top pairing NHL caliber Dman out of the draft you take those.

The only real criticism this year is again his foot speed an area he identifies he needs to improve.

Has the potential to score 20 from the back end while playing solid Defense we take those. Also Right Handed shot

 

[blankall]

Seems like a large portion of that 2014 draft came out hot, but now has cooled down. Larkin, Draisaitl, and Pasternak look like the only potential true stars from that first round now. At one point, it seemed like there might be 10 guys who would get there.

As far as the #1 pick overall, it was still the right choice. The other option would have been Draisaitl, who was considered slightly off the board at #3, at the time of the draft.

 

[Frank Drebin]

Oilers ruined his development

 

[The Moose is Loose]

You know, that's a pretty good comparison. I like EJ and think he's been a bit underrated for his career. He's obviously a tier or two below the Drew Doughty's/Erik Karlsson's/Duncan Keith's of the league, and maybe Ekblad will be too. But if he can have a career and impact like EJ, I think Florida might be okay.

I agree. Not a franchise 1D, but a top pair guy who is pretty solid all around.

 

[Howboutthempanthers]

I'm holding off all judgement on players until I see how the team plays under Q. There's a reason why Ekblad flourished under Gallant. And why he had some struggles under the coaches since.

 

[Cats2TheCup]

The rumors of Ekblad's concussion woes have been greatly exaggerated. The guy has always spent the entire off-season on vacation, forgetting about hockey to "get good at hockey".

Finally, after years of slacking off in the off-season, Ekblad has stated he will not only be working out this long summer, but will also be working on his skating.

Maybe wait until he turns at least 25 with Q before you define his career, eh?

 

[IceManCat]

It seems like the only people who can be number 1 d-men are the Burns, Doughty, Giordano’s of the world if you aren’t a superstar than you aren’t a number 1 that seems to be the consensus around here.

 

[CanadianPantherFan]

He’s never never been truly the same after the dirty M.Hendricks hit. The league did not send a message after that hit. Maybe the dirtiest play and one of the chippiest regular season game’s in recent memory. The refs did a horrible job that night. An elite young players career was taken away that night.

The player that eventually came back was a more timid, lesser IQ type of player.

The part I believe that is on Ekblad ...is his lack of progression in the skating department.

 

[CanadianPantherFan]

He exploded on the scene and looked like he would live up to that 1st overall draft pedigree in his rookie year but hasn't made much progress since then and hasn't lived up to it since. Still a good player but maybe not a 'great' player. What does HF think of him? Can he be slotted as a #1 guy on a Stanley Cup team or would Florida realistically need to find a higher impact blueliner to get to that point?

Is he even Florida's best dman? Yandle is definitely better on the PP and might be a better transition player, not sure about all around.

Funny as I was talking to a friend of mine about this topic. He’s a fan of Canadian market team, and is stunned by my take on Ekblad.

Could Ekblad be a number one on a non playoff team ? Sure. A playoff contending team ? Not likely. A cup contending team ? No.

Concussion past, lack of confidence, poor poor skating mechanics, bad angles on attacking forwards, not buying into a true two way beast of a Dman.

Coach Q will have control over Ekblad’s future in Sunrise.

 

[1972]

Doesn’t have the fluidity or offensive creativity to be a legit game changer, he’s a rocking chair #2 guy.

 

[BonMorrison]

Judging by everyone's comments, I think it's pretty safe to say he's going to be underrated for a lot of his prime years.

 

[Ryuji Yamazaki]

He's a beyond terrible skater.

If you could mesh his play with Mathesons skating, you'd have one of the best Dmen in the league.

 

[Nithoniniel]

I didn't have a high opinion about Ekblad before this season. He won me over. He was terrific this season. If you pair him with someone who can carry the puck, you have a strong top pairing.

 

[Jaguar God]

He's still only 23 years old.

People in this thread are way too quick to write off players it's insane.

 

[Kamiccolo]

He's still only 23 years old.

People in this thread are way too quick to write off players it's insane.

This is a theme on here. 1 good rookie year = I take them over the top stars of the game today. A poor season = bust and peaked.

 

[MintyFresh88]

He’s a solid #2. Strong defensively, won’t run a PP and won’t rack up assists, but will score some goals.

He has 10+ in each of the last 5 seasons...only 6 other D can say that league-wide...Burns, OEL, Giordano, Hamilton, Hedman, Josi. That’s pretty solid company.

 

[HenrikW]

Biggest problem is that fact that he had exceptional status and went a 1OA. People can't look beyond that. Whomever is saying Ekblad hasn't progressed doesn't watch enough games, is just looking at points, or is a lousy hockey scout.

Yandle is a better defender than Ekblad? Are you kidding me? Yandle is a huge liability in his own zone. He has a niche, in that he excels on the PP. That's it.