The Florida Panthers have been the best team in the league for the past two seasons, and they've shown that by winning back-to-back Stanley Cups. Health has been on their side in their run, but unfortunately, one of their key players may have just suffered a brutal injury.
Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov needed help off the floor after appearing to suffer a leg injury during the first full practice of training camp for the team on Sept. 26. There were rumors that the Panthers were concerned that the injury may be serious, and it looks like it may be heading that way, according to NHL insider Elliotte Friedman.
“Going to know more in the next 24-48 hours, but Panthers are bracing for the possibility their captain, Aleksander Barkov, could be lost for the season. Would be brutal, no one wants to see that…but, unfortunately, was a bad injury,” Friedman wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Barkov was a major piece to the team last season, as he led the Panthers in assists with 51 and was second in points. In the playoffs, he added six goals and 16 assists to help the Panthers win another Stanley Cup. Not only was he big for the Panthers last season, but throughout his career with the franchise, he's their leader in games played, goals, assists, points, power-play goals, and game-winning goals.
The Panthers were already going to be without Matthew Tkachuk for some time as he is still recovering from offseason surgery to repair a torn adductor muscle and sports hernia. If Barkov has to miss the season, they'll be hoping to get back Tkachuk sooner rather than later.
The Panthers still have enough talent on the team to compete for a championship, but losing one of their key players will definitely have an effect on how they perform this season.
