FILE - Florida Panthers' Aleksander Barkov, front, gestures while speaking during an NHL hockey rally and parade to celebrate the NHL hockey team winning the Stanley Cup, Sunday, June 30, 2024, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier, File)

By The Canadian Press

Florida captain Aleksander Barkov will not need surgery, out 6-8 weeks, Panthers say

Oct 6, 2026 | 1:09 PM

Florida center Aleksander Barkov is expected to miss six to eight weeks with a left leg injury and will not require surgery, Panthers coach Paul Maurice said Tuesday.

Barkov was hurt in the Panthers’ overtime loss at San Jose on Thursday. It appeared his left knee — not the knee that needed to be surgically rebuilt last year — buckled on the play, and the Finnish captain immediately left the ice in obvious discomfort.

The timetable would suggest that Barkov will probably be out somewhere between 20 and 25 games before he could return.

“That’s our best window,” Maurice said. “Could be a little less, could be a little more. But we think six to eight (weeks) is the right rehab time.”

Florida plays at Los Angeles on Tuesday to end a season-opening four-game road trip. Maurice revealed the timetable after the Panthers’ morning skate in advance of that game.

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The Panthers placed Barkov on long-term injured reserve over the weekend, after it became clear his absence would last longer than 10 games. The Panthers weighed multiple options on how to proceed and Barkov saw team doctors Monday before a final plan was agreed upon.

Barkov was injured 20 minutes into the team’s first training camp practice for the 2025-26 season and missed the entire campaign, one of many injury issues that played a role in Florida going from a back-to-back Stanley Cup champion to a team that missed the playoffs.

If there is a silver lining, it’s that Florida is well-versed in how to play without Barkov — who isn’t just the team captain, but is generally considered to be the team’s best player.

“If he hadn’t been injured last year we would have thought, ‘Gee, six to eight weeks is a long time,’” Maurice said. “I think last year was six to eight months, so we’re taking it.”

Over his most recent 10 seasons — excluding when he missed last season — Barkov had 722 points, 485 hits and 463 blocked shots. No other NHL player reached those numbers in all three categories over those years; Toronto’s Auston Matthews and Winnipeg’s Mark Scheifele were the only others with at least 700 points, 400 hits and 400 blocks in that span.

And the Panthers were clearly breathing a sigh of relief knowing that he will be back this season.

“It’s good for everything, maybe most importantly for Barky,” Maurice said. “He’s our captain and we miss him and he feels it when he’s not around. So, he’s probably the happiest of all of us.”

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See AP’s full NHL coverage here

Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press

by The Canadian Press