Panthers' Ekblad suspended 20 games for violating NHL's performance enhancing substances program

Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald on Mar 10, 2025

Published in Hockey

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MIAMI — The NHL on Monday announced that Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad has been suspended for 20 games, without pay, for violating the terms of the NHL and NHL Players Association’s performance enhancing substances program.

The suspension is accompanied by mandatory referral to the NHL/NHLPA Program for Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health for evaluation and possible treatment as stated under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

“The news that I had failed a random drug test was a shock,” Ekblad said in a statement released by the NHLPA. “Ultimately, I made a mistake by taking something to help me recover from recent injuries without first checking with proper medical and team personnel. I have let my teammates, the Panthers organization and our great friends down. For that, I am truly sorry. I have accepted responsibility for my mistake and will be fully prepared to return to my team when my suspension is over. I have learned a hard lesson and cannot wait to be back with my teammates.”

The Panthers only have 18 games remaining in the regular season, so Ekblad will not play the rest of the regular season and would be sidelined for the Panthers’ first two playoff games as well.

Ekblad, in the final year of an eight-year, $60 million contract, finished the season with 33 points (three goals, 30 assists) in 56 games played this season. He was part of Florida’s top defense pairing with Gustav Forsling. Ekblad missed eight games in a nine-game stretch in January because of an upper-body injury. He has missed at least 11 games each of the past four seasons due to various injuries.

He is the longest-tenured defenseman in franchise history, holding records for games played (732), goals (118), assists (262) and points (380) among Panthers blueliners.

With Ekblad suspended, the most logical move for the Panthers would be to put Seth Jones, acquired ahead of the trade deadline, on Florida’s top pairing with Forsling. That would mean Florida would revert back to the second and third pairings it had used prior to acquiring Jones — Niko Mikkola paired with Dmitry Kulikov and Nate Schmidt paired with Uvis Balinskis. Over the past three games since Jones joined the Panthers, Mikkola and Jones played together on the second pairing, while Schmidt and Kulikov served as the third pairing and Balinskis was a healthy scratch.

Jones also likely slides up to Florida’s top power-play unit, with Schmidt returning to the second grouping.

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