“I said it at the beginning of the year, it was such an incredible life-changing moment, and we just want to do it again,” Matthew Tkachuk reminded everyone at the Stanley Cup Final Media Day in Edmonton. Needless to say, everyone on the Panthers roster feels the same. Yet, as the Cats head into their third consecutive Stanley Cup final, a question lingers around a crucial member of the Cats’ defense, Aaron Ekblad.
Ekblad’s current 8-year, $60 million contract with the Panthers will reach its conclusion on July 1, and the 29-year-old becomes an unrestricted free agent. The right-handed defenseman has only ever played with the Florida Panthers since his NHL career began in 2014. So, when the question of unrestricted free agency inevitably came up during the presser, Ekblad affirmed his loyalty to the Cats.
“I live and breathe for the Florida Panthers; I bleed for the Florida Panthers,” the Stanley Cup-winning defenseman told the press. “I’ve given my body and everything to this team. I want to keep doing it forever, for as long as they’ll let me keep coming to the rink,” added the star defenseman, and it’s true. Aaron Ekblad has stuck with the Panthers during the era when they struggled to make the playoffs.
Image via Facebook/ Official Florida Panthers Fan Group
This story is developing…
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