Panthers' Aaron Ekblad: Clarifies injury

Ekblad (neck, concussion) indicated that he was symptom-free when he returned to the lineup on March 21, but game action caused the symptoms to resurface, forcing him out of the season's final 10 games, George Richards of the Miami Herald reports.

Analysis:

This most recent concussion is the third that Ekblad has been diagnosed with dating back to January 2016, with the other two also accompanied by neck problems. When trying to determine the reasons behind Ekblad's poor 2016-17 season, which saw him record career-worst totals in goals (10), assists (11), points (21) and rating (minus-23), the concussion problems he's dealt with have to be the main suspect. The first overall pick from the 2014 NHL Draft and 2015 Calder Trophy winner will get an entire offseason to recover with the Panthers non-participants in this year's playoffs.