Aleksander Barkov will not return for Florida Panthers this season
"They give you a two-month window on these knee injuries. He’ll get inside that two-month window, but why would we?" Panthers coach Paul Maurice said of Barkov's possible return.
As the Florida Panthers limp toward the end of the season, the inevitable news that likely derailed their chance at a Stanley Cup three-peat became official over the weekend. Panthers coach Paul Maurice told reporters before the March 29 game at the New York Rangers that captain Aleksander Barkov will not see any action in the regular season, which ends April 15. With Florida unlikely to make the playoffs, Barkov , who underwent surgery to repair a torn ACL and torn MCL in his right knee following a non-contact injury during the first training camp practice on Sept.
25, will have missed the entire 2025-26 NHL season. Barkov had been given a 7-to-9-month timeline to return to the ice after the reconstructive surgery - which would have been either right before the playoffs or during the playoffs. "They give you a two-month window on these knee injuries.
He’ll get inside that two-month window, but why would we? " Maurice said of Barkov, who had been cleared to skate in January and has been practicing with his teammates. "We’ll take the whole two months before he plays a hockey game again because we just wouldn’t want to … if it’s six-to-eight [weeks] and we put him in at seven and something happens, that doesn’t make much sense, so we’ll have him go through the entire rehab process.
” Barkov holds franchise records for games played (804), goals (286), assists (496) and points (782). Only a month ago, general manager Bill Zito was hoping to have Barkov back. “The sooner, the better, as far as I am concerned,’’ Zito said.