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

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Florida captain Aleksander Barkov needed surgery Friday to repair the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his right knee, injuries that will likely sideline him for the entire regular season and potentially the playoffs as the Panthers try to win a third consecutive Stanley Cup.

Barkov got hurt Thursday in his first official practice of training camp. He had surgery Friday and the Panthers said the typical timetable for recovery from such a procedure is 7-9 months.

At minimum, that would suggest he won’t be playing before the start of the playoffs. And it ends any chance of him representing his native Finland — as he hoped and planned — in the Milan-Cortina Olympics this coming February.

“He’s such a important person in that locker room,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said Friday. “I think what we’re going to get to experience now is you’ll get to know some of the other leaders that we have in our room.”

Barkov was hurt 20 minutes into practice, doing a simple drill on a play where he took minimal contact.

“I know the idea is next man up,” Maurice said. “There’s not a next man for 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 will likely keep him out for an entire season.

And now, the Panthers — who have been to the last three Stanley Cup finals and played more games in the last three seasons than any team in a three-year span in NHL history — have to navigate another missing star 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. And Tomas Nosek, who had a big role in last season’s run to the Cup title, is expected to miss considerable time with a knee injury.

“It’s going to be tough,” Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe said when asked about the Barkov news Friday. “He’s our leader — there’s no replacing Barky. Everyone has to step up. There’s no replacing him, but it’s another challenge for our group. And we’re usually pretty good at overcoming challenges.”

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.

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