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Aaron Ekblad

#5 · Defence · Florida Panthers

Born Feb 7, 1996 in Windsor, Ontario, CAN (age 30) · 6'4", 220 lb · Shoots right · Drafted 1st overall in 2014 by FLA (round 1)

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Compare with a similar player

The defencemen closest to him in points in 2024-25. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Filip Hronek VAN · 33 P in 61 GP Mattias Ekholm EDM · 33 P in 65 GP Alex Pietrangelo VGK · 33 P in 71 GP Darnell Nurse EDM · 33 P in 76 GP Mason Lohrei BOS · 33 P in 77 GP

Career

Regular season games only. Pick a season to see its game log below. Cap hit is what he counted against the salary cap that season, where it is known.

020402014-15: 39 points3914-152015-16: 36 points3615-162016-17: 21 points2116-172017-18: 38 points3817-182018-19: 37 points3718-192019-20: 41 points4119-202020-21: 22 points2220-212021-22: 57 points5721-222022-23: 38 points3822-232023-24: 18 points1823-242024-25: 33 points3324-252025-26: 26 points2625-262026-27: 1 points126-27

Points by season. The darker bar is the season shown below.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2014-15 FLA 81 12 27 39 12 32 170 109 0.48 $925K
2015-16 FLA 78 15 21 36 18 41 182 87 0.46 $925K
2016-17 FLA 68 10 11 21 -23 58 225 88 0.31 $925K
2017-18 FLA 82 16 22 38 9 71 189 69 0.46 $7.5M
2018-19 FLA 82 13 24 37 1 47 180 114 0.45 $7.5M
2019-20 FLA 67 5 36 41 12 26 147 34 0.61 $7.5M
2020-21 FLA 35 11 11 22 5 33 101 24 0.63 $7.5M
2021-22 FLA 61 15 42 57 38 26 180 62 0.93 $7.5M
2022-23 FLA 71 14 24 38 -14 68 216 77 0.54 $7.5M
2023-24 FLA 51 4 14 18 27 50 98 85 0.35 $7.5M
2024-25 FLA 56 3 30 33 11 53 106 90 0.59 $7.5M
2025-26 FLA 72 4 22 26 -5 55 97 84 0.36 $6.1M
2026-27 FLA 3 0 1 1 -2 0 3 4 0.33 $6.1M
13 seasons Career 807 122 285 407 89 560 1894 927 0.50

Playoffs

Playoff games only. Pick a season to see that year's bracket.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2015-16 FLA 6 0 1 1 0 0 14 14 0.17
2019-20 FLA 4 0 0 0 0 2 10 10 0.00
2021-22 FLA 10 1 4 5 -2 11 23 17 0.50
2022-23 FLA 20 2 6 8 9 20 26 36 0.40
2023-24 FLA 24 1 5 6 4 16 33 71 0.25
2024-25 FLA 19 4 9 13 10 38 36 62 0.68
6 seasons Playoffs 83 8 25 33 21 87 142 210 0.40

2024-25 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
56 3 30 33 11 53 106 90 0.59 2.8 23:31

Contract

$7.5MCap hitends in 2025, then extended to 2033
$227KCap dollars per point33 points in 56 games
$7.697MCap dollars per goal above replacement1.0 goals above replacement
$1.5MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
-$6MValueworth minus cap hit; below zero is overpaid

His cap hit for the whole season, set against what he did in the regular season. Lower is better value. In a season still being played the cost per point starts high and falls as the games add up. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 698 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Florida Panthers on Jul 1, 2016, as an extension of the contract he was on: 8 years and $60M, beginning in 2017-18. It runs through 2024-25, so this is its last season, and his extension takes over. His next contract is already signed: an extension with the Florida Panthers on Jun 30, 2025, 8 years and $48.8M at $6.1M a season, beginning in 2025-26.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2017-18 $7.5M $4M $5M $9M
2018-19 $7.5M $4M $3M $7M
2019-20 $7.5M $5M $4M $9M
2020-21 $7.5M $2M $4M $6M
2021-22 $7.5M $6M $3M $9M NMC
2022-23 $7.5M $2M $4M $6M NMC
2023-24 $7.5M $4M $3M $7M NMC
2024-25 $7.5M $4M $3M $7M M-NTC

Each season of the contract, with this one marked. The cap hit is the same every year; what he is paid is not. The pay is as written when the contract was recorded in October 2024, so a later change, such as the rise in the lowest salary for 2026-27, is not shown.

Contracts he has signed

Signed Signed by Kind Seasons Years In all Cap hit
Jun 30, 2025 Florida Panthers Extension not begun 2025-26 to 2032-33 8 $48.8M $6.1M
Jul 1, 2016 Florida Panthers Extension 2017-18 to 2024-25 8 $60M $7.5M
Sep 7, 2014 Florida Panthers Entry-level 2014-15 to 2016-17 3 $11.325M $925K

Every contract on record for him, newest first, with the team that signed him to it and the day it was signed. The one covering 2024-25 is marked. An extension is signed while the contract before it is still running, often a year ahead. A row with no team or date is a contract known only by its cap hit, most often one signed since October 2024.

2024-25 playoff analytics

Regular season Playoffs

Rating

+1.9Goals above replacementsix goals are worth about one win
+0.3Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
+0.4Goals above averagethe five parts below added up
Even-strength offence+1.6Even-strength defence-1.6Power play+0.2Penalty kill+0.2Penalties+0.0

The goals he added to his team's goal difference, compared with a spare-part player given the same ice time. Each part is measured against the league, so zero is an average skater. A full season is about two-thirds the player and one-third chance. A playoff run is too short to rank anyone on.

-50510152014-152016-172018-192020-212022-232024-252026-27Goals above replacementGoals above replacement, by season

On the ice

What happened at five-on-five while he was on the ice. What these numbers mean

55.5Corsi for %408 attempts for, 327 against
+2.2CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
54.0Expected goals for %15.6 expected for, 13.3 against
-2.8xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
54.3Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
61.3Goals for %19 for, 12 against
103.9PDO11.6% shooting + 92.3% saves
58Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

Each share is coloured by where it ranks among the 153 skaters who played enough to be ranked: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile. PDO and attempts taken are left plain, since neither is good or bad on its own.

Who he played with

Defence pairGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Aaron Ekblad · Gustav Forsling19287:1454.553.319-11
Nate Schmidt · Aaron Ekblad1013:1645.238.80-1
Dmitry Kulikov · Aaron Ekblad108:0385.776.90-0
Seth Jones · Aaron Ekblad86:0570.685.30-0

The pairs he spent the most time in at five-on-five, with the team's share of the shot attempts and expected goals, and the goals for and against, while they were out. The two shares are coloured as above, against the league's pairs that played a fair amount together. Hover over one for its percentile.

Chances and finishing

Expected goals adds up how likely each of his shots was to go in, judged by where it came from, what kind of shot it was and whether it was a rebound. All situations, leaving out shots at an empty net.

4Goalsnot counting empty-netters
2.1Expected goalsfrom 55 unblocked attempts
+1.9Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.27 expected goals per 60 minutes78th
Shot quality 3.8% chance per attempt75th
Finishing +1.9 goals above expected92ndOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of defencemen he is ahead of, among the 60 who played at least a quarter as much as the busiest in these playoffs.

01234Goals 4Expected 2.1

His goals and his expected goals as the season went on. When the goals line pulls away above, he is scoring more than his chances were worth; below, less.

Where he shot from

Every attempt he took in these playoffs, in all situations, attacking the net on the right. There is a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. "Show as heat map" shades the ice by where the attempts came from. Click a goal for its details.

Game log

Date Opponent Result G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits TOI
Mar 8, 2025 vs BUF W 4-0 0 1 1 1 2 0 1 22:51
Mar 6, 2025 vs CBJ W 3-0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 23:57
Mar 3, 2025 vs TBL W 2-1 0 1 1 0 2 1 3 24:57
Mar 1, 2025 vs CGY W 3-0 0 1 1 2 4 2 0 21:17
Feb 27, 2025 vs EDM W 4-3 0 2 2 -1 2 3 2 25:37
Feb 25, 2025 @ NSH W 4-1 0 1 1 1 0 3 1 23:07
Feb 22, 2025 vs SEA L 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 25:52
Feb 8, 2025 vs OTT W 5-1 0 0 0 3 0 1 4 25:41
Feb 6, 2025 @ STL W 3-2 0 1 1 1 0 3 4 23:24
Feb 4, 2025 @ WSH L 3-6 0 0 0 -3 2 2 2 25:26
Feb 2, 2025 vs NYI W 6-3 0 1 1 3 2 3 2 21:54
Feb 1, 2025 vs CHI W 5-1 0 1 1 1 0 4 3 21:58
Jan 29, 2025 vs LAK W 3-0 0 1 1 1 0 2 0 23:44
Jan 26, 2025 @ VGK L 1-4 0 0 0 -3 0 2 5 23:30
Jan 25, 2025 @ SJS W 7-2 1 1 2 2 0 1 0 18:53
Jan 8, 2025 @ UTA W 4-1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 24:01
Jan 3, 2025 vs PIT W 3-2 (SO) 0 0 0 1 2 1 2 21:42
Jan 2, 2025 vs CAR L 1-3 0 0 0 -2 0 1 3 24:06
Dec 30, 2024 vs NYR W 5-3 0 0 0 2 2 0 2 25:55
Dec 28, 2024 vs MTL L 0-4 0 0 0 -2 0 2 2 22:58
Dec 23, 2024 vs TBL L 0-4 0 0 0 -2 2 5 1 25:24
Dec 22, 2024 @ TBL W 4-2 0 1 1 -1 0 1 1 25:17
Dec 20, 2024 vs STL W 2-1 (OT) 0 1 1 0 0 4 0 25:05
Dec 18, 2024 @ MIN W 6-1 1 2 3 2 0 3 1 22:09
Dec 16, 2024 @ EDM W 6-5 0 1 1 1 0 2 1 26:53
Dec 14, 2024 @ CGY L 0-3 0 0 0 -1 0 4 1 22:17
Dec 12, 2024 @ VAN L 0-4 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 19:54
Dec 10, 2024 @ SEA W 2-1 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 23:27
Dec 7, 2024 vs SJS W 3-1 0 0 0 1 2 5 2 26:52
Dec 5, 2024 @ PHI W 7-5 0 0 0 0 4 1 2 22:12
Dec 3, 2024 @ PIT L 4-5 (OT) 0 1 1 -1 0 5 3 24:44
Nov 30, 2024 vs CAR W 6-0 1 0 1 1 2 4 0 23:19
Nov 29, 2024 @ CAR W 6-3 0 2 2 1 2 1 0 27:17
Nov 27, 2024 vs TOR W 5-1 0 1 1 2 0 4 4 26:40
Nov 25, 2024 vs WSH L 1-4 0 0 0 -2 2 1 2 23:46
Nov 23, 2024 vs COL L 4-7 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 26:00
Nov 21, 2024 @ CHI L 1-3 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 25:17
Nov 19, 2024 @ WPG L 3-6 0 0 0 -2 0 1 0 25:03
Nov 16, 2024 vs WPG W 5-0 0 1 1 2 7 3 2 19:25
Nov 14, 2024 vs NJD L 2-6 0 0 0 0 2 0 3 20:05
Nov 12, 2024 vs NJD L 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 21:05
Nov 9, 2024 vs PHI W 4-3 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 24:34
Nov 7, 2024 vs NSH W 6-2 0 0 0 2 0 1 2 21:24
Nov 2, 2024 vs DAL W 4-2 0 0 0 -1 4 1 0 18:55
Nov 1, 2024 @ DAL W 6-4 0 3 3 2 0 3 0 22:45
Oct 28, 2024 @ BUF W 5-2 0 0 0 1 0 2 2 21:00
Oct 26, 2024 @ NYI W 6-3 0 0 0 -2 2 3 1 21:37
Oct 24, 2024 @ NYR W 3-1 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 25:08
Oct 22, 2024 vs MIN L 1-5 0 0 0 -3 0 0 3 21:48
Oct 19, 2024 vs VGK W 4-3 (OT) 0 2 2 1 0 2 2 26:37
Oct 17, 2024 vs VAN L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 22:35
Oct 15, 2024 @ CBJ W 4-3 0 0 0 -1 2 0 2 20:25
Oct 14, 2024 @ BOS W 4-3 0 0 0 1 2 3 0 25:03
Oct 12, 2024 @ BUF L 2-5 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 23:05
Oct 10, 2024 @ OTT L 1-3 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 22:09
Oct 8, 2024 vs BOS W 6-4 0 1 1 1 0 2 0 26:36