Aaron Ekblad is staying with the only team he’s ever known.
The big defenceman has agreed to an eight-year deal with an annual cap hit around $6,.1 million with the Florida Panthers, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on Monday.
Ekblad, the first overall pick of the 2014 draft, has spent his entire career with the Florida Panthers, tallying 118 goals and 262 assists in 732 career games.
He’s led Florida to the Stanley Cup Final as its No. 1 defenceman in each of the past three seasons and helped the franchise hoist the Cup in back-to-back seasons. In 83 career playoff games, the Windsor, Ont., native has eight goals and 25 assists.
Ekblad was suspended 20 games last season for a failed drug test, returning for Game 2 of the Panthers’ first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He received another two-game suspension for an illegal hit to the head during that series.
He is coming off an eight-year, $60 million deal that paid him $7.5 million annually.
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