Aleksander Barkov’s return to the Florida Panthers lineup lasted two games. The captain is expected to miss six to eight weeks with a lower-body injury, leaving the defending champions without the center who sets the tone at both ends of the rink.
Florida placed Barkov on long-term injured reserve Saturday, and coach Paul Maurice said before Tuesday’s road game against the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena that the 31-year-old will not require an operation. Barkov was due to be evaluated by a doctor Monday, with the Panthers settling on a non-surgical recovery plan.
“We see the right rehabilitation window as six to eight weeks,” Maurice said, noting that the timetable could shift in either direction. Florida faces the Kings at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN and SN+.
Barkov was hurt Oct. 1 in a 4-3 loss to the San Jose Sharks. He was working for possession along the right-side corner boards during a Panthers power play when he went down awkwardly at 8:07 of the second period. After getting back on his skates, he called for the doors to be opened, dropped his gloves and headed straight off the ice.
It was only Barkov’s second game of the new season after he missed all of 2025-26 following a right-knee injury on the opening day of training camp. He underwent surgery the following day to repair his MCL and ACL. His first NHL action since that injury came Sept. 29, when he logged 20:32 in Florida’s 1-0 overtime victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.
Panthers turn to their depth again
Maurice said this latest setback has been easier to absorb than the uncertainty surrounding Barkov’s long absence last season. The coach noted that Barkov was not able to return to game action until Finland’s run at the IIHF World Championship in May, when he wore the captaincy and posted three goals and eight assists in 10 games while helping Finland win gold.
“He is our captain, and we feel his absence,” Maurice said. “He feels it too when he cannot be with the group, so he may be the happiest person among us to have a clearer path forward.”
Lars Eller, who will be among the centers asked to handle a larger share of the work, said he is not attempting to duplicate Barkov’s game. “Nobody can replace Sasha Barkov,” Eller said. “I am trying to play my own game, help the players on my line and take advantage of playing with good teammates.”
The Panthers have already begun getting bodies back. Brad Marchand returned Sunday after offseason surgery for a lower-body issue and scored with 1:50 left in regulation to force overtime against the Anaheim Ducks, though Florida fell 3-2. Gustav Forsling also came back from an upper-body injury after sitting out the San Jose game.
Florida recalled forward Sam Lafferty and defenseman Alexander Petrovic from AHL Charlotte on Saturday, although neither dressed against Anaheim. Maurice pointed to that organizational cover after a 2025-26 campaign in which Marchand, Matthew Tkachuk, Anton Lundell, Sam Reinhart, Jonah Gadjovich, Seth Jones, Eetu Luostarinen and Dmitry Kulikov each missed substantial time.
“It is a completely different feeling from where we were at this point last year,” Maurice said. “The depth is strong now. We have veteran NHL players who can step in and help us move ahead.”
Barkov’s absence remains impossible to fully cover. Florida selected him second overall in the 2013 NHL Draft, and he has produced 286 goals and 496 assists for 782 points across 806 regular-season games. In the playoffs, he has 25 goals and 56 assists in 94 contests, including his captaincy of the Panthers’ consecutive Stanley Cup championships in 2024 and 2025. A three-time Selke Trophy winner and the 2018-19 Lady Byng Trophy recipient, Barkov leaves a hole in Florida’s lineup that will require more than one replacement to fill.
