Panthers to place D Ekblad on LTIR

The Florida Panthers will place defenceman Aaron Ekblad on long-term injured reserve, general manager Bill Zito confirmed on Wednesday.

Zito added, though, that Ekblad's injury is not season-ending and appears to be closer to 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.

Ekblad left Monday's 5-3 loss to the Boston Bruins with a lower-body injury and did not return. He was minus-1 in 15:10 of ice time prior to exiting.

The 26-year-old, who logged over 24:30 of ice time in the Panthers' first two games, has one goal in three games this season. He is signed through the 2024-25 season at a cap hit of $7.5 million.

The Windsor, Ont. native had 15 goals and a career-high 57 points in 61 games last season, adding one goal and five points in 10 playoff games.

Selected first overall by the Panthers in 2014, Ekblad has 98 goals and 292 points in 557 career games.