Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad has spoken out regarding the hit on Brandon Hagel of the Tampa Bay Lightning that resulted in Ekblad serving a two-game suspension. Ekblad offered his perspective on the incident on Wednesday.
Speaking after the Panthers` morning skate in Toronto, Ekblad stated, “Going down the wall there, I`m trying to make a hit every single time I do that. I do that all season. I was looking for his chest, and I caught him in the chin, and that`s unfortunate.”
He continued, emphasizing his lack of malicious intent: “But it’s not my intention. I`m never out to hurt anybody on the ice, and it`s unfortunate the way that the outcome happened. But it is what it is.”
The play in question occurred in Game 4 of the first-round series between the Panthers and Lightning. Although not penalized at the time, the hit injured Hagel, removing him from the remainder of the series. Ekblad remained in the game and scored a crucial goal in Florida`s eventual come-from-behind victory before the league subsequently suspended him for two games for the elbow to Hagel`s head.
The suspension forced the veteran defenseman to miss Florida`s Game 1 loss against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday. He was cleared to return to the lineup for Wednesday`s game.
Many observers viewed Ekblad`s hit as retaliation for an earlier incident in the series where Hagel received a suspension for a high hit on Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov.
Following the series conclusion, Hagel made pointed remarks about Ekblad`s actions, specifically questioning his intentions and referencing Ekblad`s own history with head injuries. Hagel commented, “I’m pretty sure he has head problems himself. He’s had a few concussions. So, I would think you would want to, I don’t know, just purposely going for someone’s head is at bad as it gets.’’
When asked about Hagel`s comments, Ekblad responded coolly, “Reasonable response. That’s how he feels, and we move on.”
