Everything was looking perfect for the Florida Panthers and their quest to win a third consecutive Stanley Cup. Not only did they have one of the NHL’s best rosters on paper, but they managed to retain all their major free agents this offseason by re-signing forward Sam Bennett, forward Brad Marchand and defenseman Aaron Ekblad.
It seemed that the only thing that could slow them down would be injuries.
Well, the injuries are happening. Significantly so. And they got the worst injury news of all on Friday, and it puts a significant dent in their three-peat hopes.
Aleksander Barkov could miss entire season
The Panthers announced on Friday that Aleksander Barkov, their best overall player and one of the best all-around players in hockey, suffered a knee injury in practice on Thursday, underwent surgery on Friday and could potentially miss the entire 2025-26 regular season.
Along with scoring 71 total points (20 goals, 51 assists) in 67 regular-season games in 2024-25, Barkov also won the Selke Trophy as the NHL’s best defensive forward for the third time in five years and the second year in a row.
There’s simply no replacing him as a No. 1 center. What makes the injury even worse is it’s not the only significant injury the Panthers are dealing with this season.
Matthew Tkachuk also expected to be sidelined for months
Even before Barkov’s injury, the Panthers knew that Matthew Tkachuk — their second-best forward — was also going to be sidelined for several months due to offseason surgery to repair a torn adductor muscle and a sports hernia.
Both players are MVP-level players, among the best all-around players in the NHL and a huge part of the Panthers’ identity. They are game-changers when they are on the ice, and the Panthers are going to play a significant portion of the 2025-26 season without them. And in Barkov’s case, potentially all of it.
During the 2024-25 season the Panthers were outscored by an 85-84 margin at five-on-five play when neither player was on the ice during the regular season. They were outscored by a 58-47 margin during the 2023-24 season under the same circumstances.
The Panthers still have an extremely deep team with some outstanding players (including Bennett, Marchand and Sam Reinhart) but without their two best players for most — or all — of the season they are going to struggle in the early months. It might be enough to slow down their quest for a fourth straight Stanley Cup Final appearance and third consecutive championship.