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Aaron Ekblad will not be a free agent for a long time. That alone made this free-agency day for the Florida Panthers an overwhelming success.The Panthers have locked up their star 20-year-old defenseman for eight additional years, the sides formally completing the work Friday on what will be a $60 million extension that keeps him in Florida through the 2024-25 season. The deal was announced on the first day of the NHLs free-agent signing period, though Ekblad was still under contract to Florida for the coming season.I dont think its any secret, Panthers general manager Tom Rowe said. Hes a guy we want in the fold for a long time to come.Ekblad was an All-Star in each of his first two years with Florida, and now clearly becomes a face of a franchise that believes it is getting closer to finally hoisting the Stanley Cup.Couldnt be happier, Ekblad wrote on Instagram as he posed in a Florida jersey.He was the No. 1 pick in the 2014 draft and already is Floridas franchise leader with eight career game-winning goals.An exceptionally skilled, intelligent and mature young player that is a difference maker for our team both on and off the ice, Rowe said.The Panthers won the Atlantic Division last year, reaching the playoffs for just the second time in 15 seasons. The ownership group led by Vincent Viola has made no secret that it is driven by winning a championship, and Florida is starting to look like a real potential contender.He bought the team to win a Stanley Cup and the players that weve got here all want to win a Stanley Cup, Rowe said. We felt what we did today gives us a better chance of doing that.There were other moves, including the signing of goaltender James Reimer to a five-year, $17 million deal to share the workload with starter Roberto Luongo.Reimer has spent six seasons in the NHL, mostly with Toronto. He also appeared in nine games -- eight regular-season, one playoff -- with Stanley Cup finalist San Jose this past season.Reimer came to South Florida to see the Panthers facilities Friday and was quickly convinced he was making the right decision.Weve got a great team and great management and ownership, theyre passionate about winning, Reimer said. As a player, thats the organization you want to be a part of.Luongo is still one of the best in the NHL, but the Panthers have been mindful of not overusing their 37-year-old goalie. Hes sat out roughly one of every four Florida regular-season games in each of the last two years and had offseason hip surgery. The Panthers made a trade for former Colorado backup Reto Berra late last month. If Luongo isnt ready for opening night, Berra would begin as Reimers backup.We really targeted Reimer as a guy we see long term, Rowe said.So Reimers role will hardly be a limited one, and hes looking forward to being with Luongo.Hes a heck of a goalie, hes an elite goalie and I think his personality is known across the league, Reimer said. Hes just a great guy. For me, Im excited to learn from him.Reimers arrival means Al Montoyas time as Luongos backup is over, and longtime Panthers defenseman Brian Campbell is gone as well, as was expected, particularly after the team landed Keith Yandle late last month. Campbell is going back to the Chicago Blackhawks for next season.Florida also added a pair of forwards Friday, signing Colton Sceviour and Jonathan Marchessault to two-year contracts.Sceviour had 11 goals and 12 assists with Dallas last season, then added five more points for the Stars in 11 playoff games. Marchessault had seven goals and 11 assists in 45 games for Tampa Bay last season.Rowe coached against Sceviour in the AHL and sees him as a third-line option right away for Florida.Its a young league and the games getting faster every year and we felt the guys we picked up today, it gave us more skill and definitely gave us some quicker guys at that third-line position, Rowe said. It gives (coach Gerard Gallant) some options, more options than we had last year.Red Schoendienst Jersey . MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez also will attend the session, which was announced Monday. 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Charlie Adam scored both of Stokes goals at Britannia Stadium either side of Robin van Persies equalizer, with a miserable day for seventh-place United capped by first-half injuries to centre halves Jonny Evans and Phil Jones that forced them off.COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The game was supposed to be about the national anthem that wasnt played. Thursdays friendly against Thailand will be the first public look at the U.S. womens national team since its exit in the quarterfinals of the Olympics, a tournament that ended not with The Star-Spangled Banner but with the Germans standing as their anthem played at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro.Instead it is about the national anthem that will be played at Mapfre Stadium in Columbus. It is about what Megan Rapinoe will do. And about what she should do, in this setting in particular.It sounded Wednesday like that isnt quite what anyone wants. Perhaps even including Rapinoe.Nearly three weeks have passed since San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernicks protests, first sitting on the bench during the national anthem and more recently kneeling on the sideline, initially came to national attention. Nearly two weeks have passed since Rapinoe did the same in solidarity, kneeling during the national anthem as a member of the Seattle Reign of the National Womens Soccer League. Numerous NFL players kneeled during anthems this past weekend, even amidst the remembrances of the 15th anniversary of 9/11.But if the story is no longer new, what might transpire Thursday night is new. To date, those protests were done while representing professional teams. Doing so while representing the country would call back to American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos standing on the medal podium with fists raised in protest during the 1968 Olympics.The anthems place at professional sporting events is nebulous to begin with.It is inseparable from international sporting events.U.S. coach Jill Ellis, while supportive of Rapinoes intent, left little doubt about her perspective. (Ellis said Wednesday afternoon the two had not spoken about the anthem and any possible protest specifically but would chat later that evening.)I totally understand where Megan is, in terms of her willingness to talk about hard social issues, Ellis said. I respect that. I support that. Those conversations should be had. Me personally, in this environment for a national team, I dont disassociate playing for your country. I think thats a part of a national symbol. So in terms of standing for a national anthem, I think thats an expectation of a national team player.In an interview earlier Wednesday with ESPNs Jeremy Schaap, Rapinoe said she had not decided what she would do during the anthem. She indicated that was still the case when she spoke with media Wednesday afternoon before the teams training session. She also sounded like someone who, while unshaken in her belief, was frustrated that so much of the talk surrounding the protest centered on what she is doing instead of why she is doing it.Asked if she had found some of the productive conversations she hoped to spark, she mentioned talking to people in her life and activists in the movement. She didnt say anything about conversations with people who might disagree with her or be made uncomfortable.To be honest, not as many [meaningful conversations] as I would want, or not as many as I would think that would be appropriate for what Im trying to talk about, Rapinoe said. A lot of the conversation has been about the medium of protest and if there is offense to that and me having to defend myself against claims of being anti-American or anti-police or anti-military. So while there has been a lot [of conversation], I also think its something that a lot of people dont want to talk about and will try to deflect in any way to not talk about it.She told Schaap she wasnt sure how efffective her protest was if it meant 20 percent of people instantly tuned out because they were offended by the means of delivery.dddddddddddd In that arrangement, the argument becomes one about the anthem. About the symbol, not what it represents.Racial injustice, the sort of either explicit or unintended bias toward black people in this country, Rapinoe said of what she wished was the focus of public debate about the protests. Police brutality against people of color, communities of color. The sort of massive revamp that we need in our police system, not only for the better treatment of people of color but also for police officers as well. I think that a lot of these cops have been put in very difficult situations and tasked with very difficult jobs with very little training and very little help. Thats not an excuse, by any means, for any of the brutality or any of the intimidation, killings or violence that has happened on their watch. But I think its a very complex issue that needs to be looked at holistically. Its not just one person doing something wrong or one side doing something wrong.That is a long quote, which is part of the problem. Kneeling during the anthem is an excellent way to get people to pay attention. But the people who pay attention exist in a modern world of 140-character takes, 30-second television debates and the short attention spans they serve. To expect people, in the face of an image as powerful as kneeling during the anthem, to engage in calm, nuanced debate -- each side willing to hear the other -- is optimistic bordering on naive.But its equally difficult to have that debate if no one is paying attention in the first place.This is my lane, Rapinoe said. And I feel like for me personally, this is, I think, the best way I can do it. Obviously to be on this team, to be able to represent my country and have the platform that I do, Im incredibly grateful for it.Which brings us back to what happens Thursday night in Columbus. No womens team in this country, perhaps the world, has the profile or the platform afforded the U.S. womens soccer team. Players, including Rapinoe, have used that platform often in recent years, making the case for equal turf at the World Cup, equal pay within the national program and a variety of other social issues. They use their voices individually and collectively.But is there ever a line that can be crossed? Rapinoe said she spoke with her teammates Tuesday night to explain her motivations and answer any questions. She said she offered no apology for adding her voice to the issue. She offered no hint that others were ready to join her.What I always think about is the team ahead of the individual agenda, Ellis said. [That] is probably where Im at, in terms of theres a myriad of things that our players are concerned about. But I also think when you bring it to the team, you bring it to everybody and people that maybe dont even want to be embroiled in that discussion.For all the talk about conversations, debates and chats, it will come down to what one person decides in the hours before a game about how best to represent what she believes in.A list that includes both the national team and social equality.It seems like Im thinking 400 hours a day, thats kind of how it feels, Rapinoe said. I will continue to talk to the people in my life that I trust, and take all sides into account. Ultimately, it will be up to me and what I feel convicted about, whats in my bones and what I feel like is right. ' ' '