Ekblad ready to help Panthers in Cup repeat bid following suspension

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Aaron Ekblad is still serving the remainder of a 20-game suspension, but the Florida Panthers defenseman has been allowed to rejoin all team activities and says he will be ready to jump in for the Panthers in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The defenseman was suspended without pay March 10 for violating the terms of the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program.

Under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, the suspension was accompanied by a mandatory referral to the NHL/NHLPA Program for Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health for evaluation and possible treatment.

Ekblad will miss the final three games regular-season games for the Panthers, as well as the first two games of the Eastern Conference First Round when Florida begins its defense of the 2023-24 Cup title.

“That'll be the toughest two games, of course,’’ Ekblad said Saturday in his first public comments since the suspension.

“I’m just going to try and keep myself in the best shape that I can, so that when Game 3 rolls around, it's easy for me to come back in. It's not the first time that I've stepped into the playoffs cold after an injury. So I'm confident that I'll be fine coming into it, but those two games would be very tough to watch, for sure.”

Due to the suspension, Ekblad was barred from any team activities up until being cleared earlier this week.

Though he was allowed to use the team’s Baptist Health IcePlex facilities to skate and to work out, he had to leave if the team had anything scheduled there such as morning skates, meetings, or off-ice work.

Ekblad rejoined the Panthers for their morning skate Thursday prior to a 4-1 win against the Detroit Red Wings, with Florida coach Paul Maurice saying having the popular player back on the ice was a welcome sight.

“It brought a little bit of fun back to the group,’’ Maurice said. “You forget how big [Ekblad] is (6-foot-4, 220 pounds), and then he steps on the ice and you’re like ‘Oh man, we’re big now’ because [Seth] Jones (6-4, 213) is also on the ice. … We’re putting our lines together, and you forget about him because he hasn’t been in the lineup so long.

“It’ll be pretty good when he’s back out there. It’s just a reminder of how good a player he is, and how good it is to have him back.’’

Ekblad said skating with some friends -- including former NHL defenseman and Panthers teammate Keith Yandle -- helped him through.

“It has been a long four or five weeks of being alone,’’ Ekblad said. “I have a great support structure here in Florida, obviously, a lot of friends away from the game that I could lean on in that time. But to be back with the team is unbelievable. One of the better days.

“It was obviously tough. Being injured is obviously a bit of a different animal. it's worse, in a sense, because you can't do all those things that you want to do to stay in shape, and that can be tough. This was a little bit easier in the sense that I was able to mentally and physically stay in it as best I could.”

Ekblad’s suspension came three days after NHL Trade Deadline, and coincided with the Panthers leaving for a six-game road trip, in which they went 2-4-0.

Prior to the suspension, Ekblad had 33 points (three goals, 30 assists) in 56 games; his goal total is his fewest in his 11-season NHL career, all with Florida, which selected him with the No. 1 pick in the 2014 NHL Draft.

The Panthers are 6-8-1 without Ekblad, but are two points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for second place in the Atlantic Division heading into their game against the Buffalo Sabres at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday (6 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, MSG-B).

Florida will not play top-line forwards Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart against the Sabres; Maurice will rest them with the Panthers playing their final three regular-season games in a span of four days.

“The team is doing great," Ekblad said. "Guys are coming in and out of the lineup, getting them rest for the playoffs. That's important this time of year. We know that we're going to go on a run, we want to go on a run.

“Health is really important, and I'm really happy with the way the team has battled as much as they could.”