- The Panthers finally have a timeline on their captain’s lower-body injury
- It’s far shorter than the 10-to-12-week report that made the rounds Monday
- Read below for what Paul Maurice said and when Barkov could be back
The Panthers got the news they were hoping for on Aleksander Barkov.
Barkov will miss six to eight weeks with his lower-body injury and won’t need surgery. TSN’s Darren Dreger reported it first on Tuesday, calling it “good news” and saying non-surgical rehab is the plan:
Paul Maurice confirmed the timeline a few minutes later. The Florida coach was asked about his captain after the morning skate at Crypto.com Arena, ahead of Tuesday night’s game against the Kings.
“He’s scheduled to be out 6-8 weeks, non-surgical rehab, and that’s our best window,” Maurice said. “Could be a little less, could be a little more, but we think 6-8 is the right rehab time.”
Here’s how Panthers reporter Jameson Olive relayed it from the room:
That window is a lot friendlier than the one floating around a day earlier. Locked On Panthers host Armando Velez reported Monday that Barkov was looking at 10 to 12 weeks, which would have pushed his return to Christmas. Maurice told everyone not to bet on that number and said a real answer was coming Tuesday. He was right.
Six to eight weeks from now lands somewhere between mid-November and early December. That likely means 20 to 25 missed games.
Barkov got hurt in Florida’s 4-3 loss in San Jose on Oct. 1. He went down awkwardly battling for a puck in the corner on a power play, asked for the Zamboni doors to be opened and threw his gloves down on his way to the room. The Panthers put him on long-term injured reserve over the weekend, and he saw team doctors Monday.
Last season puts all of this in perspective. Barkov tore his right ACL and MCL on the first day of training camp in 2025 and missed the entire year. Maurice was asked to compare the two.
“If he hadn’t been injured last year we would have thought, ‘Gee, six to eight weeks is a long time,’” Maurice said. “I think last year was six to eight months, so we’re taking it.”
Lars Eller has moved up to center the top line with Brady Tkachuk and Sam Reinhart in the meantime. Florida did get Brad Marchand back Sunday, and he scored the tying goal late against Anaheim.
A three-time Selke winner, Barkov has 782 points in 806 career games. Getting him back before the calendar flips to December would be a massive lift for a Panthers team that’s 1-0-2 to start the season.
