The Florida Panthers used their first-ever first overall pick at the 2014 Draft to select cornerstone defenseman Aaron Ekblad. In 12 seasons, he’s won the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year and is a two-time Stanley Cup champion. Although he’s still missing a Norris Trophy on his resume, there’s no denying that he’s the greatest defender in Panthers history.
Back in 2016, before his entry-level deal expired, then General Manager Tom Rowe signed Ekblad to the franchise’s first-ever eight-year deal, worth $60 million, carrying a $7.5 million AAV. Then, with one year left in that deal in 2025, Bill Zito extended Ekblad for another eight years at $48.8 million and a more modest $6.7 million AAV.
For comparison, Ekblad’s two eight-year deals combined for $108.8 million, while Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar just signed the richest deal in NHL history at $164 million.
Panthers find enormous value in Ekblad’s deals
When Ekblad won Rookie of the Year honors in 2014-15, he played 81 of 82 games and scored 39 points, finishing fourth on the team in scoring. For an encore performance, he scored 15 goals in 2015-16, and his 36 points led all defensemen again as the Panthers won the Atlantic Division. Meanwhile, in 2016-17, Ekblad missed some time, the first time in his career he didn’t play at least 78 games, which led to a minus-23 rating, the worst finish of his career.
However, when his first extension kicked in at the start of the 2017-18 season, he skated in all 82 games and tallied a career-high 16 goals and 71 penalty minutes. Although Ekblad had never scored more than 40 points through his first five seasons, he finally reached the mark in the shortened 2019-20 season, finishing with five goals and 41 points in 69 games.
Within two years, with the Panthers on the verge of competing for the Stanley Cup, Ekblad broke out in 2021-22 with 15 goals and a career-high 57 points. He finished fifth in scoring behind some heavyweights like Jonathan Huberdeau (115 points) and Aleksander Barkov (88 points). He was the team’s highest-scoring defenseman, finishing 13 points ahead of MacKenzie Weegar. In addition, Ekblad was one of three defenders to finish with a plus/minus above 38 while Florida won the Atlantic again.
Before the Panthers advanced to the 2023 Stanley Cup Final, he had played only 20 playoff games and had just six points. During that first run, he played 20 games and scored eight points. When Florida went back-to-back, he skated in another 43 games and tallied 19 points in 2024 and 2025.
Ekblad is in an exclusive Stanley Cup club
As a former first-overall pick, Ekblad is in an exclusive club, as only 19 players selected first overall have gone on to win the Stanley Cup. Moreover, he is just one of five defensemen in that group, joining Denis Potvin, Rick Green, Rob Ramage, and Erik Johnson.
Of course, there's little use in comparing Makar to anyone else in the NHL. He's in a class of his own, with a first-ballot Hall of Fame resume, and has earned the right to become the league's highest-paid player.
But Makar's historic $164 million contract also puts Ekblad's value to the Panthers into remarkable perspective. Florida committed $108.8 million to Ekblad across two eight-year contracts: $55.2 million less than Colorado will pay Makar over just eight seasons. Moreover, after winning two Stanley Cups and establishing himself as the greatest defenseman in franchise history, Ekblad agreed to reduce his AAV from $7.5 million to $6.1 million on his second eight-year deal.
Ekblad may never have Makar's individual accolades, but his contracts have helped Florida achieve something far more important: building and keeping a championship roster together.
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