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Panthers Bracing for Aleksander Barkov to Potentially Miss Entire 2025-26 NHL Season

Unfortunate news for the back-to-back Stanley Cup champs.

Tom Dierberger

Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov skates between plays during the third period against the Oilers in Game 4 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena.
Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov skates between plays during the third period against the Oilers in Game 4 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena. / Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
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It did not look good when Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov went down with an apparent leg injury during practice Thursday. One day later, Florida reportedly is preparing for the worst.

Panthers coach Paul Maurice told reporters Friday that Barkov is undergoing right knee surgery to repair the injury suffered Thursday. Per NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, Florida is "bracing for the possibility" that Barkov could miss the entire 2025-26 campaign.

Early Friday evening, the team announced that Barkov had indeed injured his ACL and MCL—setting him up to miss seven to nine months of action.

"We have to learn how to win hockey games without good players," Maurice said Friday. "If that's the adversity and the test we face this year, that's what we're going to do."

Barkov, a first-round pick (No. 2 overall) in the 2013 draft, has spent all 12 seasons of his career in a Panthers sweater. The two-time All-Star was a key cog in the Panthers' back-to-back Stanley Cup titles in 2024 and '25.

In 67 games last season, Barkov tallied 71 points—20 goals and 51 assists. Without him on the ice this season, Florida will turn to Sam Bennett, Anthon Lundell, Evan Rodrigues and Luke Kunin to take the load at center.

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Tom Dierberger
TOM DIERBERGER

Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.

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