Injury to Ekblad Presents Major Obstacle Early on in Panthers Season

The Florida Panthers recorded their first loss of the season Monday night. A 5-3 defeat to division rivals, the Boston Bruins.

But it’s not the loss that was chalked up in the standings that the Panthers are concerned about. It’s the loss to their blue line. 

Aaron Ekblad exited the game in the second frame, slowly leaving the ice after the Bruins scored their second goal. He would not return to the game.

This morning, general manager Bill Zito addressed the media after placing Ekblad on LTIR, “He’ll be back. It’s not a season-ending thing. We have every reason to believe he’ll be back at 100%.”

Updates from GM Bill Zito this morning:

Aaron Ekblad will be placed on LTIR, but he says it is not a season-ending situation and looks to be more short-term.

Anthony Duclair is “tracking as planned” and still looks to potentially return December/January.

— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) October 19, 2022

Whatever the case, any game played without their star defenceman patrolling the blue line is going to present a major obstacle.

In the three games, the Panthers have had this season, Ekblad is a +1 with one goal, four hits, and a blocked shot.

Depth of Blueline About to be Tested

At the start of the NHL season, we at Full Press Hockey reported that one of the biggest questions facing the Florida Panthers would be if they had enough depth on their blue line to handle an injury.

Well, we are certainly going to get a good look at what the depth of this blue line is capable of.

The Panthers will also be without the services of defenceman Brandon Montour for their next game. 

Montour was a late-game scratch, citing an upper-body injury, against Boston. Paul Maurice said he expects Montour to be a full participant at their next practice.

Heading into tonight’s home opener, the Panthers have called up Lucas Carlsson and Matt Kiersted from AHL affiliate, Charlotte Checkers.

As of the time of reporting, their defensive pairings look as follows

Updated defensive pairings after Montour and Ekblad injuries pic.twitter.com/gIDstWOJwe

— Alex Slemp (@AlexSlemp) October 19, 2022

What will the Defensive group look like in Ekblads Absence?

Unfortunately, Ekblad has dealt with some serious injuries in the last couple of seasons.

Back in March of 2021, he suffered a gruesome ankle injury in a game against the Dallas Stars. The injury would cause him to miss the remainder of the season.

The Panthers’ assistant captain was again hurt in a game against Anaheim near the 2022 trade deadline. 

He was placed on LTIR and didn’t return until the start of the playoffs.

But last season when Ekblad was put on the shelf, his current defensive partner, Gustav Forsling, stepped up brilliantly in his absence.

Forsling assumed the top pairing role alongside MacKenzie Weegar, and he would go on to lead the league in goals among defencemen during this time. 

But with Weegar traded in the offseason there is a massive gap to fill on a top-pairing unit. 

Montour will miss the Panthers’ next game, so we will see Marc Staal slot in alongside Forsling. But once Montour is back, we could see the former second-round pick take a spot on the top pairing.

Montour has excellent vision in the offensive zone and routinely jumps up into the rush. 

The former second-round pick could best be described as a smooth-skating, two-way defenceman.

Now for the Panthers’ final four defencemen, it will be interesting to see how they go about implementing those pairings. 

They could keep Radko Gudas and Marc Staal on the second pairing together. The two combined have 1635 NHL games of experience. A far cry from the experience of Josh Mahura and recent call-ups, Kiersted, and Carlsson, which have a combined 157 NHL games between them.

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What can we expect while Ekblad is Sidelined?

Head coach Paul Maurice may elect to keep experience together and lean on his top two pairings at the start. But if Ekblad is to miss significant time, he will eventually need to balance out the minutes and force some of the younger defencemen into more prominent roles on the second pairing.

Whichever route Maurice plans to go, it is obvious that there is a significant lack of experience to fill the holes on this blue line.

Matt Kiersted will likely get a long look. The native of Elk River, Minnesota stayed with the big club for the entirety of training camp. 

Undrafted but highly sought after out of the University of North Dakota, Kiersted had his choice of NHL suitors to choose from and saw a fit with the Florida Panthers.

The 6-foot, 181-pound rearguard has played 17 games with the Panthers since signing with them in 2020. He has one goal, one assist, and is a -12 in those games.

After spending a full year in Charlotte, Kiersted’s game has evolved and taken that next step. 

He recorded 20 points in 65 games and was a +6 with the Charlotte Checkers in the AHL.

Lucas Carlsson, a former fourth overall pick of the Chicago Blackhawks, was picked up for another year after signing on the year prior.

Last season Carlsson suited up for 40 games with the big club. He recorded three goals and nine points and was a plus-three.

He’s had a longer look than Carlsson but not in the eyes of Maurice, who, being new to the club, sees both Kiersted and Carlsson as new players. 

Promote from within or time to go shopping?

Well, that’s a big question facing the Panthers right now.

With Ekblad’s 7.5 million dollar cap hit on the LTIR, the Panthers have some money to spend.

Surely going out and snagging a defenceman whose value is in the seven million dollar range would help ease the current state of affairs. 

But who is available this early in the year? And if Ekblad does end up being on the shelf “short-term” as Zito stated, what would they do once Ekblad’s contract came back on the books?

Those are two very good questions, and as such, no one should expect Zito to go out and do anything more than promoting from within until further notice.

Next Man Up

It’s going to be a difficult time for the reigning President’s Trophy winners as they navigate this part of the season. Losing a star player is never an easy obstacle to navigate.

But the silver lining here will be that there is plenty of season to play. 

This will also give the organization an opportunity to get a good look at some of its prospects and where they fit in this lineup.

The Panthers take the ice again tonight in their home opener against the red-hot Philadelphia Flyers.