The Florida Panthers took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to announce their captain, Aleksander Barkov, will be out for the next 7-9 months while recovering from ACL and MCL injuries.

The 30-year-old suffered the injury on Thursday during what coach Paul Maurice was defining as the first ramp-up skate for the veterans. In what appeared to be a harmless play, Barkov fell to the ice and needed to be helped off, unable to place any weight on his leg. 

Barkov underwent surgery today by Dr. John Uribe at Baptist Health Doctors Hospital, just a day after sustaining the injury.  Barkov will be re-evaluated on an ongoing basis, but the initial timeline is 7-9 months, indicating that he will miss the entire regular season and very likely, the post-season.

The Panthers were devastated to hear the news about Barkov, with several players speaking up during their media availability this morning.  

"It's time for everybody to step up, especially for me," said Finnish center Anton Lundell. "It's an opportunity to bring a little more to the table. It's something I want to take as a good challenge."

"It’s another challenge for our group, and we’re usually pretty good at overcoming challenges," said linemate Carter Verhaeghe.

Barkov's Injury Makes The Atlantic Division Up For Grabs Coming into the 2025-26 regular season as back-to-back Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers were always going to be hard-pressed to win three consecutive Cups – and their chances to three-peat took a devastating blow with reports that star center and Panthers captain <a target="_blank" href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/panthers-captain-sasha-barkov-suffers-significant-knee-injury-expected-to-miss-regular-season">Aleksander Barkov could miss the entire season</a> after essentially blowing out his right knee.

The Panthers are gearing up to chase history, looking to win their third consecutive Stanley Cup, but doing so without the three-time Selke Trophy winner is a daunting task. GM Bill Zito will have money to play around with to find a temporary replacement for Barkov, but with few trade assets and shoes very few, if any, player could fill, it'll be a challenge for the Panthers to repeat. 

"I know the idea is ‘next man up," Maurice told the Associated Press Friday in the wake of Barkov’s injury. "There isn't a next man to fill (Barkov’s) skates."

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