FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Florida captain Aleksander Barkov could miss the entire regular season because of a knee injury, a major blow to the Panthers and their quest to win a third consecutive Stanley Cup.
Barkov was injured Thursday in his first official practice of training camp and was undergoing surgery Friday, coach Paul Maurice said.
The star center is expected to miss several months, which calls the entire season into jeopardy and essentially ends any chance of Barkov representing his native Finland — as he hoped and planned — at the Milan-Cortina Olympics in February.
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Barkov was in surgery Friday while Maurice was addressing reporters. Once the surgery ends, the Panthers said they would release more details — some of which, Maurice said, wouldn’t be known until the procedure is over.
“I know the idea is next man up,” Maurice said. “There isn’t a next man to fill Barky’s skates.”
Barkov led the Panthers in assists last season with 51 and was second in points with 71 before adding six goals and 16 assists in the playoffs when Florida won its second consecutive Stanley Cup.
He has appeared in more than 86% of all Florida games, including playoffs, in his 12 NHL seasons. This is the first time he has dealt with something that could keep him out for an entire season.
It’s the second significant injury issue for the Panthers, who have been to the past three Stanley Cup Finals, to navigate as the season approaches.
In addition to Barkov, the Panthers also will be without forward Matthew Tkachuk while he recovers from offseason surgery to repair a torn adductor muscle. There is no formal target for Tkachuk’s return; given the typical return-to-play timelines for such procedures, it wouldn’t seem likely that he plays before December.
Since Tkachuk came to the Panthers in 2022, Florida has played only five games without either he or Barkov in the lineup — all last October, with the Panthers winning three of those five contests.
Barkov is Florida’s franchise leader in many categories, including games played (804), goals (286), assists (496), points (782), power-play goals (84) and game-winning goals (52).
“Not a guy you want to see go down, for sure,” Panthers forward Jesper Boqvist said Thursday.
