Ekblad needs surgery, will miss start of next season; Panthers expect Tkachuk to be ready
Aaron Ekblad won’t be ready for the start of 2023-24 NHL season after sustaining a litany of injuries during the Florida Panthers’ run through the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs.
The star defenseman broke a foot in Game 2 of Round 1 and dislocated his right shoulder in the Eastern Conference finals, and will need surgery to repair his shoulder this offseason.
“That’s been a problem for a long time for me,” Ekblad said, “so we’re going to get it fixed.”
The 27-year-old Canadian is hopeful he won’t need surgery on his foot. He also clarified he actually only dislocated his shoulder once, not twice as coach Paul Maurice indicated Tuesday after the Panthers’ season ended with a 9-3 loss to the Golden Knights in Game 5 of the 2023 Stanley Cup Final.
The foot injury occurred early in the Stanley Cup playoffs and only forced Ekblad to miss one game. He didn’t realize his foot was broken until after Round 2, when he finally got an X-ray done to determine the cause of his pain.
“I didn’t figure out until between Toronto and Carolina that it was broken, just because you think it’s fine,” Ekblad said. “You assume that it’s fine.”
Ekblad also battled through injuries in the regular season, including a groin injury and shoulder injury.
It was just the latest in a run of injury-plagued seasons for the two-time All-Star. Ekblad fractured his right ankle in 2021 and missed all of Florida’s playoff run, then injured his right knee last year and missed the end of the regular season.
“This was probably the hardest year for me, injury-wise, like playing with — obviously, I’ve had worse stuff to deal with — but nothing that was unmanageable. It wasn’t that bad, just old stuff that we all deal with.”
Panthers’ Tkachuk unsure about surgery
Matthew Tkachuk played with a fractured sternum in Game 4 and most of Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final last week, and is now mulling different options for his recovery this offseason.
Conversations, the superstar right wing said, were underway Thursday to figure out whether he’ll need surgery to repair his chest injury.
“We’re just talking about that today,” Tkachuk said. “I’m sure, either way, it’s going to be a little bit of time.”
The projected timeline, Maurice said, is about 4-6 weeks and the team expects him to be ready for the start of next season.
Tkachuk’s injury occurred in the first period of Game 3 on Thursday when Tkachuk took a crunching open-ice hit from Vegas forward Keegan Kolesar. He knew right away something was wrong and went back to the locker room to get checked after staying in for one power play. He missed about a full period to undergo concussion testing and eventually returned to score a game-tying goal with 2:13 left in regulation.
The 25-year-old American then played 16:40 in Game 4 on Saturday — Senators star Brady Tkachuk, his younger brother, helped him get out of bed and dressed in the morning — before he and the organization decided he’d be unable to play in Game 5.
“We won the game, which is great, and then the next few days were pretty tough, just getting in and out of bed, needed help getting onto the table here to get treatment. Everybody played a huge part in getting me to play that game,” Tkachuk said. “My brother was staying with me and had to get me out of bed and get me dressed to come to the rink. I had guys tying my skates and putting on my jersey, and guys just helping me with everything. I’m happy that I was able to attempt and play that game, but I knew I wasn’t myself. There were 12 better options than me for forwards, basically at that point. I knew I wasn’t myself, but I tried to give everything I can and hold my head high knowing that I did everything possible to try to play.”
Panthers’ Luostarinen won’t need surgery
Eetu Luostarinen broke his tibia in the final game of the East finals last month, which is why he was unable to play in any of the Cup Final.
The 24-year-old forward tried to get back on the ice and practiced once on the eve of the Final, but the location of the break ultimately made it unable for him to skate comfortably.
“He effectively broke his tibia, the top, the weight-bearing part,” Maurice said. “You can play with certain broken bones, but he took it right on the top of the tibia, so any time he stood on it, he was standing on a broken bone.”
He will not need surgery, Maurice said.
The team is still sorting through who might need offseason surgery and those decisions will affect who might miss the start of next season. Florida anticipates multiple players, including Ekblad, to miss the beginning of the 2023-24 season.
“We’re going to do the due diligence,” Maurice said. “There’s probably two guys — Aaron’s one of them — that we’re going to have to take a look at that might bleed into training camp. Everybody else, I think, heals out.”
This story was originally published June 15, 2023 at 9:26 AM.
