Aaron Ekblad and the Florida Panthers came to an agreement on an eight-year contract extension on Friday.
The extension has not been finalized and is not official, but it was confirmed by Ekblad himself on Twitter. The deal is worth a reported $60 million and will kick in following the 2016-17 season.
9 more confirmed years with this logo, thank you to the @flapanthers for the commitment,… https://t.co/L6l3RXXshX — Aaron Ekblad (@Ekblad5FLA) July 1, 2016
The 20-year old has had two solid seasons since joining the NHL, and now is locked up for the next nine seasons. The Panthers can now continue working on a plan to build around the young star.
Florida made Ekblad the first overall pick in the 2014 NHL draft and ever since then, he's shined. In 78 regular season games this past year, Ekblad had 15 goals and 21 assists. Not only did Ekblad fill the stat sheet offensively, but the defenseman did a solid job of getting in the way of the opposition's scoring chances.
This off-season, the Panthers changed their look and have also kept busy in the transaction department. Florida will likely make a few more moves before the season gets underway. The 2015-16 season was a great one for the Panthers, and the team will look to build on that success.
