FORT LAUDERDALE — Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad was not concerned when he saw his captain, Aleksander Barkov, fall to the ice during training camp a year ago. Just a slip, he thought to himself, he'll be fine.
But after the team switched ice surfaces and Barkov was still down, it got solemn.
As news filtered out that Barkov tore the ACL and MCL in his right knee,
an injury that required season-ending surgery, Ekblad could not help but think the worst."Pretty daunting," Ekblad said Sept. 16, the day before the Panthers opened training camp. "Didn't feel like we were going to have a good season without him. That's a really hard thing to replace. It's not just hard, it's impossible."
It was.
The loss of Barkov, combined with several other
injures, torpedoed the season. The Panthers not only snapped a streak of three consecutive Stanley Cup Final appearances and two straight titles, they didn't even sniff the playoffs.
The return of Barkov, along with several additions, has everyone believing 2026-27 will be more like the years that ended in June and not April.
The Panthers, who open the season Sept. 29 at the Carolina Hurricanes, the defending Stanley Cup champions, are a serious contender to reclaim that trophy.
"I'm excited to just throw pucks off the middle of the ice, and it could be hip high or off his boots, and he'll find a way to grab it," Ekblad said. "It's going to be special to see him."
Sasha Barkov feeling good after leading Finland to World Championship
Aleksander "Sasha" Barkov, 31, is entering his 14th NHL season, all with the Panthers. Barkov, who lives in Boca Raton, was the second overall pick in the 2013 draft by Florida, joining the organization before he could drive. He borrowed a teammate's car to take his driver's license test.
That teammate was goalie Jacob Markstrom, who was traded by the Panthers soon after Barkov, a native of Finland, successfully earned the right to negotiate the South Florida traffic. Markstrom was reacquired in June to replace the popular Sergei Bobrovsky, who left for the Toronto Maple Leafs via free agency.
"We had some fun moments my first season when he was here," Barkov said, not specifying if any of those occurred when he was behind the wheel.
On the loss of Bobrovsky, a key component of the two Stanley Cup teams, the captain said: "It's very sad to see him go. Of course, it is part of this business sometimes."
Perhaps Bobrovsky would still be minding the nets in Sunrise if Barkov, and others, were healthy and Florida kept alive its Stanley Cup streak. But that possibility died when the Panthers lost 9-of-11 starting in late January and knew it was time to look at the silver lining … a summer of rest, especially for those coming off three years of exhaustion as a result of playing deep into June.
Barkov was skating with the Panthers late in the season but did not play in any games. But that time gave him a chance to knock off some rust and test the knee.
He did that in the IHF World Championship in Switzerland in May, where he captained Team Finland to a gold medal.
"To play some meaningful hockey, it makes me a lot more confident and happy about my situation right now," Barkov said. "Going into this camp I feel like totally normal and no extra nervousness or anything like that, which is great."
Barkov played 10 games for Finland, recording three goals and eight assists.
"Now I don't think the narrative is, 'Oh, can he come back and play? Is he okay?' " Panthers General Manager Bill Zito said. "No, he already did that several months ago. So it's more of a normal approach to the season."
Barkov stayed connected with his Panthers teammates
Even if Barkov could not help on the ice, the team still felt his presence in the locker room and weight room. The mental part of his rehab included staying connected with his team and being around his teammates as much as he could, which meant most of the time they were not on the road.
Barkov attacked therapy, working on his upper body as his knee healed. "I just had to quickly turn the page and think about what I can do to get the best out of the situation," he said. He progressed to the ice, practicing with the team late in the season.
It was at that time the Panthers really regretted the season taking a turn for the worse. If Florida made the playoffs, Barkov could have returned.
"Seeing him skate around, how quick he was back to himself, it's a little disappointing not giving him that opportunity to suit up with us last season," Sam Reinhart said.
Reinhart, especially, will be happy to see his captain and linemate. Reinhart's best two years came during the title run — 57 goals, 94 points in 2023-24; 39 goals, 81 points the following season — playing on Barkov's line.
That production fell to 29 and 61 last year. He did miss the final 18 games with a foot injury.
"You say a guy makes everybody better … he makes the coach better because I can be wrong," coach Paul Maurice said. "But all I'm going to do is put Barkov on the ice, and none of you guys are going to call me out on it. Right?"
And both players will welcome a new linemate this season, three-time 30-plus goal scorer Brady Tkachuk, the brother of Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk, who was acquired from Ottawa.
"It could be great for Sasha," Maurice said. "A big man that can control the puck. Because the big man that can control the puck … there's a lot of wear and tear. You can spread that out over another guy, another big man."
Tom D'Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida Panthers felt doom and gloom losing Sasha Barkov last season
