Mattias Ekholm plays hard and plays hurt but as hard as he played in the Stanley Cup Final against Florida, he couldn't overcome the fact he was really injured.
"I had a torn adductor (muscle)...that's usually a tough injury when you're trying to skate but it is what it is," said the Edmonton Oilers defenceman, whose powerful skating is a strong suit but he was compromised against the Panthers, especially playing in three overtime games in the first four after a comfortable 16-minute lead-up in the last game of the Western Conference Final against Dallas.
Ekholm tore the muscle against San Jose Sharks on April 11, when he fell to the ice early in the game after a mild tie-up with Ty Dellandrea. His leg gave out on him, and he was done for six and a half weeks. He had already been nursing a suspected lower-body issue and had missed 13 of 17 games.
He missed the last three league games and the first 15 Oilers playoff matches, returning May 29 against the Stars. He got into the last seven but while he had six points, he was clearly a shadow of his usual defensive self. He was unable to effectively close gaps on opposing attackers as he normally does. He had trouble pulling away from checkers to buy room to make a play to get the puck up ice.
Injured or not wild horses weren't going to keep him from playing in the Cup final, though. It was the same adductor muscle story with Evander Kane in 2024 but he also had hernia issues and when he couldn't keep up coach Kris Knoblauch pulled him from the lineup
His GM Stan Bowman told Sportsnet's Pierre LeBrun last week he was at "70 per cent." Playing against the Sharks or Blackhawks at 70 per cent, you can get by.
But not the Panthers.
When asked about playing at 70 per cent, Ekholm shrugged.
"How do you put a percentage on it?" he said.
"It wasn't great. You're more out there to survive rather than create and play your game, he said. "The first couple of playoff games it (adductor) was good because you're so into it mentally...but after that, I wouldn't say you lose it, but it becomes more normal (hard work). It was definitely a challenge that I hadn't had in my career. Looking back, it was difficult, at times. Obviously skating is a big part of hockey. No excuses. I decided to play."
As a medical lesson, adductors are the group of muscles that go from the pelvic bone down to the inner thigh and the knee. The muscles allow the hip and leg to move inward across the body and steady the trunk.
So, uh, pretty important part of the anatomy.
Ekholm didn't need surgery post playoff for the adductor tear, just rest, but the Oilers clearly missed his dominating presence on the back-end in June.
"You don't skate for a month and a half and that's the biggest problem. You can take pills and injections so the pain is gone," he said, "but there's also a point of explosiveness (skating and making defensive plays, denying the blueline) and trust (mentally, to do his normal checking but now playing on a sore leg)," he said.
He also went from 16 minutes in Game 6 against Dallas to 25:19 in Game 1 against Florida and 29 minutes in Game 2 of the final, two straight OT games. The leg, of course, got tired against a hard forechecking Panthers team.
"Now, I'm excited (healthy again). If I lose the puck, at least I know I can get it back," said Ekholm, who's been back from Sweden for two and a half weeks, moving well at the Captain's Skates, eagerly awaiting the start of camp, exhibition games and league ones.
Fact is the last three to four months last season he wasn't the same old Ekholm. When talking to reporters, he was hoarse and coughing on many Oilers nights in the dressing room, but still playing. He soldiered through the 4Nations Face-off in February for Sweden, with Florida's Gustav Forsling as his partner in the first two games against Canada and Finland.
Was he sick? Yes, he was. But he wasn't making a big deal of it. Unfortunately, his Swedish coach Sam Hallam didn't like his game and was going to scratch him for the third against USA until two others got sick. He barely played. So, maybe there are fences to mend between now and when the Olympic team is picked for Milan. Playing in it is very high on Ekholm's bucket list because it would be a first.
"I can't be thinking about that too early. First and foremost I've going to show the Oilers what I can do. Sweden has a stacked blueline, about 15 deep and there wouldn't be much talk about who's left out," he said.
"But I haven't had a chance to play in an Olympics and I'm dying to do it. But if I start thinking of that it's going to be a long four months before that (Swedish) team is selected. I'm just going to show I'm deserving of a spot."
When healthy, Ekholm should have to play his way off the Olympic team, not onto it, even if he is 35, like Canada's Drew Doughty. But, it was a strange 4Nations playing for Hallam. In the first game against Canada, Ekholm and Forsling were excellent, often out against Connor McDavid's line. In the second game against a small Finnish team, the whole Swedish side had a rough night with Ekholm finishing a minus-1.
Hallam had trusted Ekholm with playing with the terrific Forsling as a partner and he had an A on his jersey. Made little sense then after a very small sample size, making Ekholm a scapegoat after the Finnish loss.
Certainly if you asked any NHL GM or coach if they could have Ekholm on their team it would be a loud "hell, yes." He's a leader, valued greatly by two of the five best players in the world, McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
For now, Ekholm is in the last year of his Oilers contract ($6.25 million AAV). He definitely wants an extension, although it might be for less money because of his age.
"It's a contract year but I'm also getting up there (age). I know what I bring on the ice but I also have a family and I want to make sure we have security. Do I want to stay in Edmonton? Absolutely. I guess there will be discussions but you're going to be talking to a guy in a few minutes who's the big focus. I've been around long enough in this league to know you take care of the big boys first," said Ekholm, waiting for McDavid to talk to the media.
One thing to consider with Ekholm. There's not a lot of tred on his tires at 35. He's only played 884 league games, not 1,207 like Doughty, who is the same age. Quite likely, if Ekholm still has the game, he can play another 300 games.
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