Panthers' Ekblad Linked To Interesting Playoff Team In East

The Ottawa Senators finally took the step into playoffs and are now expected to not only be back next season, but push further and start competing for the Stanley Cup. Their offseason moves will dictate whether or not they have a strong chance of taking another step next season or not.

The Senators project to have over $17 million in cap space next season and are expected to target one of the bigger free agents, whether that be a forward, defense, or both. Looking defensively, Aaron Ekblad of the Florida Panthers has been linked to Ottawa as an upcoming free agent as there is uncertainty around his future in Florida with Seth Jones being brought in and not a ton of cap space to work with moving forward.

A top-4,right shot defenseman is exactly what the Senators need to add to the mix. The team already has Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot, but are the two top-4 d-men on the left side. Ekblad would bring experience and championship pedigree that any team would love to have. While the depth needs a few additions, there is a good amount of money to use on Ekblad.

The right defensemen are Artem Zub, Nick Jensen, and Nikolas Matinpalo. Jensen has one more year left on his deal, so either there could be a one-year overlap and then his money is free up for the rest of Ekblad's contract, or Matinpalo drops to the seventh defenseman where he arguably should be. I don't expect Ottawa to stay quiet this offseason after making the jump to the postseason as their core is young and ready and a few more pieces is all that is needed.