Panthers' Aaron Ekblad to have Player Safety hearing

Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad is facing another suspension after knocking Lightning winger Brandon Hagel out of Sunday night’s Game 4 with a high hit. Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet was the first to report. 

It’s a phone hearing with the Department of Player Safety, so he’s ineligible to be suspended for longer than five games.

Midway through the second period, Ekblad came down the halfwall to deliver a check to Hagel. Instead of making body-on-body contact, Ekblad raised his forearm to contact Hagel’s head, forcing the latter into concussion protocol. 

He did not return to the game, nor was Ekblad penalized on the play, in what many chastised as a missed call. Florida scored three goals in the final four minutes of the game to win 4-2 and take a 3-1 series lead, with Ekblad scoring the game-tying goal.

While the hit itself likely warrants a second look for supplemental discipline regardless of the context, the length of Ekblad’s likely pending suspension could be increased if DoPS determines it was a retaliatory hit. Hagel had just returned to the lineup after serving a one-game suspension for interference against Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov.

Ekblad wasn’t the only Panthers defenseman to lay a controversial hit in Game 4. Niko Mikkola was ejected from the game early in the third period and given a major penalty for boarding Lightning forward Zemgus Girgensons. He won’t face a suspension, though. DoPS announced Tuesday he’s been fined $5,000 for the play but won’t have a hearing.

The 29-year-old Ekblad had just returned from a 20-game suspension for violating the league’s performance-enhancing substances rules in Game 3 of the series. His goal was his first point since returning. He posted a -3 rating across Games 3 and 4 while averaging 21:16 of ice time.