- A Monday report had Aleksander Barkov out 10 to 12 weeks
- Paul Maurice says the Panthers still don’t have a timeline
- Read below for the Maurice video and what comes next for Barkov
Paul Maurice isn’t buying the Aleksander Barkov injury timeline that made the rounds Monday.
The Panthers coach was asked after practice at Crypto.com Arena about a report that his captain would miss 10 to 12 weeks. His answer was blunt: “Do not bet your hard-earned money on that one. I know you can bet on everything these days. Hang onto your cash. Truly. If I don’t know, nobody else does.”
Watch Maurice’s full answer:
That report came from Armando Velez of Locked On Panthers earlier in the day. Velez said the 10-to-12-week range would put Barkov back around Christmas or New Year’s, which is what we passed along this morning.
Florida’s version is that nobody has a number yet. Barkov spent Monday with team doctors, and Maurice said a more solid answer should come Tuesday.
The only detail he would give on the injury itself was “just lower body.” When pressed further, Maurice explained why reporters were only getting scraps.
“You’re getting feathers, sorry,” he said. “You know why? Because we need a certain amount of information before we can make our best estimate, and we don’t have that information. So everybody’s guessing. He’s in with doctors.”
Barkov went down in the second period of last Thursday’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Sharks. He fell awkwardly battling for the puck in the corner on a power play, then asked for the Zamboni doors to be opened and threw his gloves down on the way to the room.
San Jose was only his second game back after a torn ACL and MCL in his right knee cost him all of 2025-26. Florida moved him to long-term injured reserve on Saturday, which means he’ll miss at least 10 games either way.
Lars Eller has slid up to center the top line between Brady Tkachuk and Sam Reinhart. He picked up an assist in Sunday’s 3-2 overtime loss in Anaheim.
The Panthers (1-0-2) wrap their four-game road trip Tuesday against the Kings, which is also when Maurice expects to have real news on his captain.
