Florida captain Aleksander Barkov could miss the entire regular season because of a knee injury, a major blow to the Panthers and their quest to win a third consecutive Stanley Cup.
Barkov was injured Thursday in his first official practice of training camp and was undergoing surgery Friday, coach Paul Maurice said.
The star center is expected to miss several months, which calls the entire season into jeopardy and essentially ends any chance of Barkov representing his native Finland -- as he hoped and planned -- at the Milan-Cortina Olympics in February. Barkov had been named as one of the first six players on Finland's roster in June.
Barkov was in surgery Friday while Maurice was addressing reporters. Once the surgery ends, the Panthers said they would release more details -- some of which, Maurice said, wouldn't be known until the procedure is over.
"I know the idea is next man up," Maurice said. "There isn't a next man to fill Barky's skates."
The salary cap implications for Barkov's injury are significantly different this season than in previous ones. The new collective bargaining agreement altered the salary cap exception for long-term injuries and established a "postseason salary cap" for the first time in league history. While the full CBA doesn't go into effect until September 2026, the NHL and the players agreed to expedite those rule changes for the 2025-26 season.
Under the revamped rules, the Panthers could get the full long-term injured reserve relief for Barkov's $10 million cap hit, but he would then be ineligible to play in the regular season or playoffs. If Florida believed Barkov could return, the Panthers could exceed the salary cap by only up to $3.8 million, the previous season's average league salary. And if Barkov does come back for the postseason, the Panthers would have to fit his cap hit under the new playoff salary accounting rules.
Barkov led the Panthers in assists last season with 51 and was second in points with 71 before adding six goals and 16 assists in the playoffs when Florida won its second consecutive Stanley Cup. He became the fourth player this century to repeat as the Selke Trophy winner as the NHL's best defensive forward.
He has appeared in more than 86% of all Florida games, including playoffs, in his 12 NHL seasons. This is the first time he has dealt with something that could keep him out for an entire season.
It's the second significant injury issue for the Panthers, who have been to the past three Stanley Cup Finals, to navigate as the season approaches.
In addition to Barkov, the Panthers also will be without forward Matthew Tkachuk while he recovers from offseason surgery to repair a torn adductor muscle. There is no formal target for Tkachuk's return; given the typical return-to-play timelines for such procedures, it wouldn't seem likely that he plays before December.
Since Tkachuk came to the Panthers in 2022, Florida has played only five games without either he or Barkov in the lineup -- all last October, with the Panthers winning three of those five contests.
Barkov is Florida's franchise leader in many categories, including games played (804), goals (286), assists (496), points (782), power-play goals (84), short-handed goals (13) and game-winning goals (52).
"Not a guy you want to see go down, for sure," Panthers forward Jesper Boqvist said Thursday.
ESPN's Greg Wyshynski and The Associated Press contributed to this report.