Aaron Ekblad dealt brutal injury blow, but there's a silver lining for the Panthers

Florida Panthers D Aaron Ekblad was placed on LTIR on Monday after sustaining a lower-body injury and is expected to be out a while.

The Florida Panthers defense was dealt a gutting injury blow after it was announced that Aaron Ekblad would be placed on long-term injured reserve. The Panthers announced the decision to place Ekblad on IR on Wednesday after the star defenseman left Monday's clash with the Boston Bruins during the second period. While Ekblad is set to miss significant time due to the injury, Frank Seravalli reports the Panthers are optimistic that the 26-year-old will be able to return later this season.

#FlaPanthers are indeed expecting to miss D Aaron Ekblad for a chunk of time on LTIR with a lower-body injury, the exact timeline TBD. But Ekblad is not expected to be out long enough to allow the Panthers to go shopping to replace him on the cap.@DailyFaceoff

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) October 19, 2022

The exact timetable for Ekblad's return to action has yet to be revealed, but Seravalli indicates that the Panthers are operating under the mindset that the star defender will return this year. They also have opted against making a trade to find a replacement for Ekblad, which bodes well for his chances of returning at some point later in the season. GM Bill Zito described the injury as being “more short-term.”

Updates from GM Bill Zito this morning:

Aaron Ekblad will be placed on LTIR, but he says it is not a season-ending situation and looks to be more short-term.

Anthony Duclair is “tracking as planned” and still looks to potentially return December/January.

— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) October 19, 2022

Zito also offered an update on Anthony Duclair, who figures to return to the team in December or January after undergoing surgery in the offseason to repair his Achilles tendon.

Ekblad sustained the injury during Monday's 5-3 loss against the Boston Bruins after logging just over 15 minutes on the ice. The team described the ailment at the time as being a lower-body injury. Losing Ekblad to LTIR just three game into the regular season is a huge loss for the Panthers and leaves the team a bit shallow defensively. Their current defensive pairings figure to consist of Marc Staal and Gustav Forsling, Josh Mahura and Radko Gudas, and Lucas Carlsson and Matt Kiersted.

Aaron Ekblad was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 NHL Draft and has since featured in 557 games for the Panthers. In 2021-22, Ekblad registered a career-high 57 points across 61 games, including 15 goals and 42 assists. He placed sixth in Norris Trophy voting.