Aaron Ekblad and the Florida Panthers’ road to their first ever Stanley Cup victory ended up being more eventful than they would’ve liked.
The team took control of their series against the Edmonton Oilers quickly, taking a 3-0 lead and only needing one more win to claim hockey’s greatest prize.
Edmonton refused to go down with out a fight, becoming only the third team in NHL history come all the way back to force a Game 7 in the final.
However, the Panthers were able to regain their composure to take Game 7 by a nail biting 2-1 score to become victorious.
“When you’re up 3-0, it doesn’t get any easier to win,” Ekblad told TSN 1050’s First Up on Tuesday. “When [the Oilers came back], what a crazy whirlwind, rollercoaster of emotions that you go through during that time.
“That feeling when you wake up in the morning and you have a chance to win the Stanley Cup is a feeling that’s unmatched. We got to do it four times, so you can imagine those mornings and how shaky our hands were.”
Due to the realities of the NHL’s calendar, the Panthers only had a week to celebrate as a team before the team before free agency began.
The Panthers’ defence corps is set to go under a major change with Brandon Montour and Oliver Ekman-Larsson exiting as free agents while Vladimir Tarasenko, Ryan Lomberg, and Kevin Stenlund were subtractions from the forward group.
While Ekblad is sad to see his teammates leave, he’s happy to see their efforts and achievements being recognized in the form of new contracts around the NHL.
“Every player has to chase the money at some point in their career, it’s really important,” said Ekblad. “Obviously we would have liked to have some of those guys back in order to run it back, but we reached our ultimate goal. Kudos to them for going and doing what they need to do but we’ll be working and grinding [here] waiting to get back and do what we do best.”
One of core pieces of the Panthers’ defence that left was Ekman-Larsson, who joined the Toronto Maple Leafs on a four-year, $14 million deal.
The 6-foot-2 left-shot defenceman joined the Panthers last season after the Vancouver Canucks bought out the remaining two years of his previous contract. He ended up signing a one-year deal worth $2.5 million with the Panthers and proved he can still play at a high level.
Ekman-Larsson recorded nine goals and 32 points in 80 games last season and added two goals and six points en route to winning the Stanley Cup.
“He’s one of those perfect Swedes,” said Ekblad. “He’s one of the best guys in the room, he never really has a bad day, he’s always smiling, and he’s fun to chat with.
“[Toronto] is getting a poised, great puck moving defenceman who can skate, is great under pressure, and can score. He does it all and it was a blessing to play with him for a year.”
The Panthers have been fortunate by going deep into the playoffs the last two seasons by making two Stanley Cup Final appearances. They lost in five games to the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023 and were victorious against the Oilers this year, while going the distance.
Last season, Ekblad missed the first 16 games after undergoing shoulder surgery last off-season. This year, he feels like both he and the team are more prepared for next season.
“Last year, it was a lot harder with the surgery,” said Ekblad. “I had to wear a walking boot and a sling to Sam Reinhart’s wedding and Jack Eichel [of the Golden Knights] was sitting there laughing at us at the same table.
“Obviously, we’re in a much better spot now [since] a lot of us aren’t as injured. We’re not nursing things and we’re obviously more optimistic being the winners.”
