During the Florida Panthers' Oct. 1 matchup against the San Jose Sharks, Aleksander Barkov fell awkwardly and immediately left the ice, clearly limping. This was simply awful to see, as Barkov just missed the entirety of the 2025-26 season after undergoing ACL and MCL surgery last September. With this, there is no question that there has been plenty of concern about Barkov's latest injury.
Now, an update on Barkov has been provided. It is certainly not a good one, but it is also not as bad as it could have been. According to Locked on Florida Panthers' Armando Velez, Barkov is expected to be out for the next 10 to 12 weeks.
With this, he should be back for the Panthers around Christmas if all goes swimmingly with his recovery. While it is good to hear that Barkov is not expected to miss all of this season, he is still going to miss a good amount of it. Now, the Panthers are going to need to adjust without having their captain available again.
When healthy, Barkov is one of the NHL's best players. During his last healthy season in 2024-25, he posted 20 goals, 71 points, and a plus-1 rating. He also won the third Frank J.
Selke Trophy of his career in 2025 as the NHL's best two-way center. In 806 career NHL games with the Panthers over 13 seasons, Barkov has posted 286 goals, 496 assists, 782 points, and a plus-124 rating. He also captained the Panthers to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2024 and 2025.
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