Panthers' Aaron Ekblad talks suspension, preparation for playoffs

SUNRISE, Fla. — For a little more than four weeks, Aaron Ekblad had to be away from the Florida Panthers.

That’s part of the punishment that came with the defenseman’s 20-game suspension for violating the terms of the NHL and NHL Players Association’s performance enhancing substances program, which came via a failed random drug test.

Ekblad is still suspended, not able to play until Game 3 of Florida’s first-round matchup in the Stanley Cup playoffs, but he was cleared to return to team activities on Thursday.

On Saturday, after Florida’s morning skate before playing the Buffalo Sabres, Ekbald spoke to the media for the first time since the league announced his suspension on March 10.

Here is everything Ekblad said.

— What is it like to be back at practice?

— “It’s incredible. It was a long four or five weeks there of being alone. I have a great support structure here in Florida, obviously, a lot of friends away from the game that I could lean on in that time, but to be back with the team is unbelievable.”

— You’ve been away from the game before due to injuries, but even then you’re around the team. How tough was it to be away from the group during the suspension?

— “It was obviously tough. Being injured is obviously a bit of a different animal. It’s worse, in a sense, because you can’t do all those things that you want to do to stay in shape and that can be tough. So this was a little bit easier in the sense that I was able to mentally and physically stay in it as best I could.

— Where was your mental state when the suspension was announced? I would think it was like an anvil being dropped on you.

— “An anvil is a good metaphor. It was tough. It was a tough first few days, but life goes on. You have to move past it. So that’s why I tried to do the best I could.”

— What were you doing when you were away from the team to make sure you were ready when you were able to rejoin the team?

— “So I had to be out of the facility whenever the team was here, no team activities. I was still able to skate and work out and draw up my own on-ice programs as best I could. I’d watch the games. I’d see something Forsy [defenseman Gustav Forsling] would do and I tried to mimic it in practice the next day. It was a good lesson in being my own coach for a little bit.”

Ekblad added that he had friends, including Keith Yandle, who came out and skate with him.

“That was obviously good to have some people out there. There’s a lot of hours skating and working out alone, but it was good. It was fun to put myself to work in a way that I hadn’t before.”

— How do you feel the team has done in your absence?

— “The team’s doing great. Guys are coming in and out of the lineup, getting the rest for the playoffs, and that’s important this time of year. We know that we’re going to go on a run, and we want to go on a run. So health is really important. I’m really happy with the way it seems battled as much as they could.”

— Missing the first two playoff games is probably going to sting, right?

— “That’ll be the toughest two games, of course. That’s obvious, so I’m just going to try and keep myself in as best shape as I can so that one Game 3 rolls around, it’s easy for me to come back in. And it’s not the first time that I’ve stepped into the playoffs cold, after injuries even, so I’m confident that I’ll be fine coming into it, but those two games would be very tough to watch, for sure.”

— How much does it help to have a couple weeks of practice with the team before returning?

— “Yeah, to make passes and receive passes [is good]. I’ve been telling guys that if they catch me with my head down to lean into me a little bit just so I can get that feeling back. That’s the nature of the beast in the playoffs. Just trying to get as many game-like reps as I can. And these 10 days are huge for that.”

— What has this time off done for your body physically?

— “I felt good all year after I broke my hand there [in January, which caused him to miss nine games]. Obviously, all of this happening, it’s a ton of rest. My body hasn’t felt this good since coming into Game 1 of the season. It’s almost like a mini training camp. It’s the best I’ve felt in a while, for sure.”

— How tough of a lesson was the suspension for you?

— “The toughest. There’s so many ways you look at it — respect and integrity and character, family, name, my teammates, fans. It’s every single which way you look at it. The money that I lose on top of all that — not that I care about in that sense; I’d give it all back to play. A lot of regret, but is what it is, and I have to find a way to move forward.”

Injury updates

The Panthers had a pretty star-studded session of players being scratched from the lineup following their morning skate on Saturday.

The group: forwards Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett along with defensemen Ekblad, Dmitry Kulikov and Matt Kiersted.

Barkov and Reinhart are being held out for rest ahead of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Bennett and Kulikov are sidelined with upper-body injuries. Ekblad is suspended. Kiersted is an extra healthy defenseman.

“If we weren’t in the schedule that we’re in, they’d all be playing,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said of the regulars not playing Saturday.

Maurice added that Kulikov and Bennett could both draw into the lineup on Monday against the New York Rangers, which is Florida’s final home game of the regular season. The team ends the season Tuesday at the Tampa Bay Lightning.

And then there’s star winger Matthew Tkachuk, who is on long-term injured reserve with an apparent groin injury sustained in mid-February during the 4 Nations Face-Off. He has been skating before team sessions for about two weeks now, and Maurice said the hope is Tkachuk returns to the main group for practice next week.

“He’s got to get to a point where they can push him a little harder on the ice,” Maurice said of Tkachuk.