The waiting is almost over for suspended Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad, who is raring to return

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The waiting is almost over for suspended Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad, who is raring to return

2025-04-13 00:41 Last Updated At：00:50

It's been a long month for Aaron Ekblad. The worst is almost over.

The Florida Panthers defenseman spoke out for the first time Saturday since being suspended 20 games without pay for violating the NHL and NHL Players’ Association’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs last month, something he said was an inadvertent mistake.

He's back on the ice with the defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers now for workouts — but can't play until Game 3 of Florida's first-round playoff series.

“There’s so many ways you look at it," Ekblad said, when asked about what the suspension has been like. "Respect and integrity and character, family, name, my teammates, fans. Every single which way you look at it — the money that I lose on top of all that, not that I care about it in a sense. I'd give it all back to play and take it all back again. So, a lot of regret, but it is what it is and I have to find a way to move forward.”

Ekblad, in a statement through the NHLPA, said at the time the news that he had failed a random drug test shocked him. “Ultimately, I made a mistake by taking something to help me recover from recent injuries without first checking with proper medical and team personnel,” Ekblad said last month. “I have let my teammates, the Panthers organization and our great fans down. For that, I am truly sorry."

His absence has been part of a long list of Florida players missing from the lineup in recent weeks.

The Panthers lost Matthew Tkachuk in February and hope to have him back for Game 1 of the playoffs. Brad Marchand missed his first few weeks with Florida after being acquired from Boston. Aleksander Barkov has missed a few games down the stretch, defenseman Dmitry Kulikov and forward Sam Bennett might be back on Monday, and the Panthers are giving some other regulars a bit of rest as well.

Seeing Ekblad back on the ice, even just for practice, was enough to make Panthers coach Paul Maurice smile. Ekblad wasn't able to be around the team for weeks as part of the suspension; he can now do everything other than play games.

“It lets him go in and buy a lot of dinners for the guys, right? His credit card will take a beating and have a little bit of fun," Maurice said. "But he steps on the ice and it’s another 6-4 or 6-5 guy on your blue line and now all the guys in red look big. It adds a little something.”

Ekblad has been on the ice — just not with teammates, until now. He had some friends skate with him at times, like former Panthers defenseman Keith Yandle, but they couldn't be in the team facility when the Panthers were there.

“I was still able to skate and work out and draw up my own on-ice programs as best I could,” Ekblad said. "I’d watch the games, I’d see something (Gustav Forsling) would do and I’d try to mimic it and practice the next day, so it was a good lesson in being my own coach for a little bit. ... A lot of hours skating and working out alone, but it was good. It was fun to put myself to work in a way that I hadn’t before.”

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

The Latest: Pakistan says India fired missiles at air bases inside the country and Pakistan responds

2025-05-10 09:29 Last Updated At：09:32

State-run Pakistan Television said Saturday that retaliatory attacks are underway after India fired missiles at three air bases inside Pakistan. It did not give details, and it was unclear which military locations in India were being targeted.

“Multiple locations in India are being targeted in the retaliatory attacks,” the state-run media reported.

India fired missiles at three air bases inside Pakistan but most of the missiles were intercepted, Pakistan’s army spokesman said Saturday. It’s the latest escalation in a conflict triggered by a gun massacre last month that India blames Pakistan for.

Here is the latest:

Blasts and gunfire were heard in the northwest Pakistani city of Peshawar on Saturday morning.

A security official said a local air base had activated its defense system to take down a drone. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

The official did not give further details, including the number of drones or if they were Indian.

— Contributed by Riazat Butt

Srinagar resident Mohammed Yasin said he heard at least two explosions.

“Our home shook and windows rattled,” he said.

The explosions on Saturday were heard in the disputed region’s two big cities of Srinagar and Jammu, and the garrison town of Udhampur.

“Explosions that we are hearing today are different from the ones we heard the last two nights during drone attacks,” said Sheesh Paul Vaid, the region’s former top police official and a resident of Jammu. “It looks like a war here.”

The Group of Seven nations, or G7, has urged “maximum restraint” from both India and Pakistan as hostilities flared.

“Further military escalation poses a serious threat to regional stability. We are deeply concerned for the safety of civilians on both sides,” a statement by Canada on behalf of G7 foreign ministers said Friday.

“We call for immediate de-escalation and encourage both countries to engage in direct dialogue towards a peaceful outcome,” the statement said.

The Indian army said in a statement late Friday that drones were sighted in 26 locations in Indian states bordering Pakistan and in Indian-controlled Kashmir, including region’s Srinagar main city.

It said the drones were tracked and engaged.

“The situation is under close and constant watch, and prompt action is being taken wherever necessary,” the statement said.

Syed Mohammad Ali, a defense analyst, says Pakistan launched retaliatory strikes after exercising maximum restraint.

He said Pakistan is using its ballistic missiles to hit those Indian military facilities from where India launched the latest attacks on Pakistan.

“The world knows that Pakistan exercised maximum restraint. We gave diplomacy a chance when friendly countries made efforts to defuse the situation, but India kept on indulging in aggression,” he said.