According to reports, the Florida Panthers have come to terms on deals with forward Brad Marchand and defenceman Aaron Ekblad on Monday.
Florida’s front office had themselves a busy day as they hoped to avoid either player hitting free agency which is set to kick off on July 1st. Ekblad’s deal is for 8 years, with an average annual value of $6.1M, while Marchand’s will be a 6 year, $32M pact.
Originally drafted 71st overall by the Bruins back in 2006, Marchand spent his entire career with Boston until he was acquired by the Panthers at this year’s trade deadline. The 37 year old would go on to have an impactful postseason with Florida, tallying 20 points (10G, 10A) across 23 playoff games.
A veteran of 1,100 regular season contests, the Halifax native sits just 20 points shy of 1,000 for his career. Marchand was expected to be one of the most coveted free agents on the market if he was still available, with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Boston Bruins being amongst the teams who were linked to the forward.
Meanwhile, Aaron Ekblad has re-upped to stay with the only franchise he’s ever known, despite persistent chatter that he could be a cap casualty this offseason. The 29 year old has appeared in 732 contests, all with Florida, since being drafted 1st overall back in 2014.
A defensive stalwart on the backend, the Windsor born blue liner accumulated 13 points (4G, 9A) in 19 contests during his team’s recent playoff run.
The deals come just 3 days after the club announced the re-signing of Conn Smythe winning forward Sam Bennett, who recently inked a $64M contract extension last week. All-in-all, Florida now has their top 6 forwards signed through 2030, their top 3 defencemen signed through 2030, and a potential for $34M in cap space following the 2025-26 season.
While rival Edmonton has had to look for creative ways to shed salary this offseason, Florida has been able to largely run back their existing core as they look to make it a three-peat of Stanley Cup championships next spring.
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