The Florida Panthers have placed defenseman Aaron Ekblad on long-term injured reserve, Frank Seravalli of DailyFaceoff.com reports.
Ekblad was hurt early in the game versus the Anaheim Ducks on Friday. He suffered what appeared to be an injury to his left leg. This is the same leg that Ekblad fractured last season and cost him the playoffs. While the Panthers don’t believe the injury to be as serious this year, Ekblad is not expected to return to the team until the first round of the playoffs at the earliest.
The Panthers acquired Claude Giroux from the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday and were going to have to make a corresponding move to get him on the roster.