Barkov Is Back, and the Panthers Are Smiling Again

Aleksander Barkov is back on the ice in Fort Lauderdale, and the thing his teammates keep mentioning is not his passing or his faceoffs. It is the smile.

"It's awesome to see him happy, see him smile sometimes, and just enjoy playing hockey right now," Panthers forward Anton Lundell said.

Barkov, the captain of Florida's 2024 and 2025 Stanley Cup winners, missed all of last season after tearing the ACL and MCL in his right knee 20 minutes into training camp. The Panthers missed the playoffs. He stayed in town for home games, where Florida won 23 times, a total topped by only nine other clubs, but skipped the road trips because of his rehab schedule. Florida won just 17 games away from home, the eighth lowest total in the league.

"Anytime you can add a top three player in the world, that's definitely a good thing," Matthew Tkachuk said. "So, we're welcoming him back with open arms."

Aaron Ekblad is looking forward to the simple part of it. "I'm excited to just throw pucks up the middle of the ice. It could be hip-high or off his boots and he'll find a way to grab it."

Coach Paul Maurice said he leaned on Barkov more than the other way around, and admitted he missed having the option.

"He makes the coach better, because I can be wrong," Maurice said. "But all I've got to do is put Barky on the ice and none of you guys are going to call me out on it, right? 'Hey, Barky, you're up.' How hard is that, right?"

Barkov has never scored 40 goals or reached 100 points, and his best finish in the scoring race is 10th. Over his most recent 10 seasons he had 722 points, 485 hits and 463 blocked shots, and no other NHL player hit all three of those marks in that span.

He is not interested in the framing. "You just have to enjoy every single chance you get to play hockey, to be with your teammates, to go to every single practice, every single game," Barkov said. "You've got to be excited about that."

Florida is scheduled to visit Anaheim on Oct. 4 for the Ducks' home opener.