Aaron Ekblad, doping and the “strange coincidence” of the Seth Jones transaction

The Panthers saw their star defenseman Aaron Ekblad be suspended for 20 games due to doping.

In short, the defenseman will miss the last 18 games of the regular season and the first two playoff games – which will likely take place at home for the Florida club.

And since the team is not fighting for survival, let’s say it could have been worse for them.

But by the force of things, this doping situation makes us question the timing of all this. After all, it comes just a few days after the acquisition of Seth Jones in Florida, just after the trade deadline and just late enough for him to miss the end of the regular season.

And so, you’ll tell me?

What we need to know is that even if we learned about it yesterday, the Panthers undoubtedly found out about it before. The defenseman managed to get caught (which is surprising) and the Panthers may have had time to react.

And as Renaud Lavoie said this morning (on the airwaves of BPM Sports in the morning show) that he read that Ekblad’s salary was coming out of the salary cap during his suspension, let’s say that helps the Panthers a little. Just a little.

Were the Panthers as transparent as possible in this case? The question can be asked.

After all, if the club knew that Ekblad’s salary was going to lift the legs off the salary cap by the end of the season and that the player was going to be absent without the Hawks knowing, that changes the situation.

Be careful: we don’t know what Chicago knew or didn’t know before trading Seth Jones. But if the Panthers and/or the NHL hid information from the Blackhawks, that changes the situation of a potential transaction.

After all, the price could have changed. #Despair

Because yes, there is a world where the Panthers take advantage of the defenseman’s suspension, who will be a free agent in a few months, to get Jones from the Blackhawks at a good price.

We can’t accuse the Panthers of anything and maybe if the announcement was late, it’s not just their fault. But at the very least, we can talk about a nice coincidence for a club that will get Matthew Tkachuk back just for the playoffs, right?

In passing

– Ah yes?

– David Reinbacher absent from the Rocket’s training. We’re talking about a day of treatment. [X]

– The woman who had massacred the American national anthem at the 2024 Baseball All-Star Game is back. She did well last night. [TVA]

– 2025 Draft: Carter Bear’s season is over. [TSLH]

– Indeed.