Defenseman Seth Jones faces a few weeks on the injured list, but fortunately, he's expected back before the NHL's Winter Olympic break.
The Florida Panthers have lost another key player to injury.
Panthers defenseman Seth Jones was hurt during Florida’s loss to the New York Rangers at the 2026 Winter Classic on Friday, taking a deflected shot by Alexis Lafreniere to the shoulder/collarbone area early in the game.
Jones immediately left the ice and was briefly looked at by medical trainers before heading back underneath the stands at loanDepot park and into the Panthers locker room for further evaluation.
On Monday, Florida Head Coach Paul Maurice provided an update on Jones following a Panthers practice at the Baptist Health IcePlex in Fort Lauderdale.
Maurice said Jones would be considered week-to-week due to the injury, but added that he will probably be back before the NHL pauses for the 2026 Winter Olympics early next month.
“We expect him back before the Olympic break, we’re hopeful for that, we think it’s going to be that, but he’s going to be out a couple weeks,” Maurice said.
Between now and the Olympics, Florida has 16 games on the schedule, only five of which will come on home ice.
The Panthers called up defenseman Tobias Bjornfot from AHL Charlotte over the weekend and slotted Donovan Sebrango into the lineup Sunday, so we’ll see if that’s the third pairing rotation, along with Uvis Balinskis, that Florida wants to roll with over the next several weeks.
Remember, the Panthers aren’t expecting Dmitry Kulikov back from labrum surgery until sometime in March, so while there is help coming, it’s not arriving anytime soon.
The injury to Jones comes just as Florida was started to get on the healthier side with its forwards.
Matthew Tkachuk is nearing a return from offseason adductor and sports hernia surgery, and Jonah Gadjovich, Cole Schwindt and Noah Gregor have all been back on the ice in recent days as well.
We also learned recently that both Sasha Barkov and Tomas Nosek have been skating as they continue recovering from respective offseason knee surgeries.
While both are still months away from returning, it’s a positive sign to see they have not hit any setbacks as they work toward cracking the Cats’ lineup.
Florida will travel to Toronto Monday ahead of their matchup with the Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday night.
It’s the first of a six-game road trip for the Panthers, the first four of which all come against divisional opponents.
Buckle up, it should be fun.
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Photo caption: Dec 6, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers defenseman Seth Jones (3) celebrates a goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the second period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Jim Rassol-Imagn Images)