LOS ANGELES – The news was better than expected on Aleksander Barkov.
Avoiding a worst-case scenario after suffering a lower-body injury in the second game of the season on Oct. 1, the Florida Panthers captain will be sidelined for six to eight weeks.
Surgery will not be required.
“That’s our best window,” head coach Paul Maurice said following Tuesday’s morning skate at Crypto.com Arena. “Could be a little less, could be a little more.”
An encouraging diagnosis, Barkov missed all last season with a right knee injury.
With that, the Panthers are breathing a huge sigh of relief.
“If he hadn’t been injured last year, we would’ve thought six to eight weeks is a long time,” Maurice said. “I think last year was six to eight months, so we’re taking it.”
Placed on LTIR last week, Barkov had been looking incredible prior to his latest injury.
After captaining Finland to gold at the IIHF World Championship in May – including racking up 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in 10 games – the 31-year-old center saw 20:32 of ice time in Florida’s 1-0 win over the Carolina Hurricanes to open the season on Sept. 29.
Helping lead the Panthers to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2024 and 2025, Barkov is Florida’s all-time leader in goals (286), assists (496), points (782) and games (806).
“He’s our captain and we miss him,” Maurice said. “He feels it when he’s not around. He’s probably the happiest of all of us [with his recovery timeline].”
Teammates were also overjoyed to hear their captain would be returning this season.
“It’s Barky. He’s one of the best players in the league,” rookie forward Sandis Vilmanis said. “Amazing to hear the good news. We just can’t wait to see him on the ice again.”
In Barkov’s absence, Sam Reinhart has shifted from the wing back to center.
Florida’s other current centers include Sam Bennett, Anton Lundell and Lars Eller.
With that sort of depth down the middle, the Panthers are confident they can hold down the fort until Barkov returns.
“He had no issues slipping into the middle,” Maurice said of Reinhart. “There was no issue or a lag in his thinking or processing of the game. That was pretty easy for us.”
The Panthers will end their four-game road trip tonight in Los Angeles at 10 p.m. ET.
