Impending UFA Ekblad hopes to stay put: 'I live and breathe for the Florida Panthers'

Aaron Ekblad has only played for one team over the course of his 11-year NHL career and he hopes that won't change.

The impending unrestricted free-agent defenceman tells The Athletic's Michael Russo that he wants to remain with the Florida Panthers.

“I live and breathe for the Florida Panthers. I bleed for the Florida Panthers,” Ekblad told Russo, noting that he hasn't even thought about his time with the team winding down. “I’ve given my body and everything to this team, and I want to keep doing it … forever, for as long as they’ll let me come to the rink.”

A 29-year-old native of Windsor, Ont., Ekblad was the first overall selection of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft out of the Ontario Hockey League's Barrie Colts.

While Ekblad hopes to remain in South Florida, he acknowledges a certain excitement about playing in the final year of a deal.

“It’s been a bit of a roller coaster for myself, and I’m happy to be in this situation now,” Ekblad said. “You’re playing for your life, right, in a sense. So it’s been a fun experience playing in a contract year, and I’m happy with the way things have gone.”

Playing in his third consecutive Stanley Cup Final, and currently trailing the Edmonton Oilers 1-0 in the series, Ekblad says winning one title, like the Panthers did last summer, makes you desire more.

“I truly believe that after you win one, you want it that much more,” Ekblad said. “And that’s the kind of attitude that I think that all the returning players have. The amount of fun and the excitement that you get from it is incredible, and it makes you want it again that much more. So that’s where I pull my energy from."

A one-time All-Star and the 2015 Calder Trophy winner, Ekblad has appeared in a career 732 games for the team. He missed 20 games - 18 regular-season and two playoff contests - this season after testing positive for a banned substance.

He is finishing up the final season of an eight-year, $60 million deal.