Report: Ekblad signs 8-year, $48.8M deal to stay with Panthers
The Florida Panthers signed defenseman Aaron Ekblad to an eight-year contract with a $6.1-million cap hit, TSN's Pierre LeBrun reports.
Ekblad has won back-to-back Stanley Cups in Florida and has spent his entire 11-season career with the Panthers. He was drafted first overall by Florida in 2014.
The 29-year-old was set to become an unrestricted free agent Tuesday.
Ekblad is coming off an eight-year contract signed in 2016 that had a $7.5-million cap hit.
The Panthers re-signed Conn Smythe Trophy-winner Sam Bennett to an eight-year contract with a $8-million cap hit Friday.
Florida has $4.9-million of cap space after signing Ekblad, according to PuckPedia. The Panthers' remaining free agents include Brad Marchand and Nate Schmidt, plus restricted free agents Mackie Samoskevich and Daniil Tarasov.
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