Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov is expected to miss six-to-eight weeks with a knee injury which will not require surgery.
“That’s our best window. Could be a little less, could be a little more,” head coach Paul Maurice said Wednesday.
The update comes after the Panthers placed Barkov on long-term injured reserve last week, sidelining him for at least 10 games.
Barkov was hurt midway through the second period of Florida’s 4-3 overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night. He was jostling for the puck along the boards, got pushed by the Sharks’ Darnell Nurse and awkwardly fell to the ice with his left leg at an unnatural angle. It appeared his knee buckled on the play.
Barkov remained down for a few moments, then got up and headed toward the tunnel leading to the Florida dressing room. He walked with a bit of a limp and appeared to angrily try to throw off his gloves as he moved toward the room.
Barkov — Florida’s captain and a huge part of the Panthers’ runs to Stanley Cup championships in 2024 and 2025 — missed the entire 2025-26 season with torn ligaments in his right knee. He went scoreless in his first two appearance of this season for Florida.
The Panthers are 1-0-2 to start the season and will visit the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday.
