FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. —
“I know the idea is next man up,” Maurice said. “There’s not a next man for Barky’s skates.”
Barkov led the Panthers in assists last season with 51 and was second in points with 71. He added six goals and 16 assists in the playoffs as 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 a potential season-ending injury.
And now, the Panthers — who have been to the past three Stanley Cup Finals and played more games in the past three seasons than any team in a three-year span in NHL history — have to navigate another missing star as the season approaches.
In addition to Barkov, the Panthers also won’t have 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 will return before December.
Since Tkachuk came to the Panthers in 2022, Florida has played only five games without either him or Barkov in the lineup — all last October, with the Panthers winning three of those contests.
Tomas Nosek, who had a big role in last season’s run to the Cup title, also is expected to miss considerable time because of a knee injury.
“It’s going to be tough,” Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe said when asked about Barkov on Friday. “He’s our leader. There’s no replacing Barky. Everyone has to step up. There’s no replacing him, but it’s another challenge for our group. And we’re usually pretty good at overcoming challenges.”
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).
