Florida’s Aleksander Barkov has surgery, could miss entire season with knee injury

Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov hoists the Stanley Cup after the Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals, Monday, June 24, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla.

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 got hurt Thursday in his first official practice of training camp and was undergoing surgery Friday, coach Paul Maurice said.

Barkov is expected to miss several months, which calls the entire season into jeopardy and essentially ends any chance of him representing his native Finland — as he hoped and planned — in the Milan-Cortina Olympics this coming February.

Barkov was in surgery on 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.

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“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 — then added six goals and 16 more assists in the playoffs when Florida won its second consecutive Stanley Cup.

Barkov has appeared in more than 86% of all Florida games, including playoffs, in his 12 NHL seasons. This is the first time he’s dealt with something that could potentially keep him out for an entire season.

It’s the second significant injury issue for the Panthers — who have been to the last 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 in any games 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, with games played (804), goals (286), assists (496), points (782), power-play goals (84) and game-winning goals (52) among them.

Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press