The Florida Panthers are looking to become the first team since the early 1980s New York Islanders to win three straight Stanley Cups. They started their season 3-3-0 with their most recent loss coming against the New Jersey Devils by a score of 3-1 on Thursday night. The losses are looking bad, but it is still very early in the season.
But there is one thing that is really keeping the team down, that being their infirmary. The injuries have piled up to a near-insurmountable level.
Matthew Tkachuk
This one in particular was known for a moment as it was announced when the team won the Cup. Matthew Tkachuk suffered a torn adductor off the bone and went under the knife to get it fixed. Last season, he had 57 points (22 goals, 35 assists) in 52 games.
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He is expected to return to action in December, giving him a chance to play in the upcoming Winter Olympic Games and potentially the Winter Classic.
Aleksander Barkov
Probably the biggest blow the team has taken this season, Aleskander Barkov suffered a torn ACL and MCL at practice just a couple of weeks before opening night on Oct. 7.
After receiving surgery on said injury, he will be shut down for the entire 2025-26 regular season. Last season, he was second on the team in points with 71 (20 goals, 51 assists). The team describes Barkov as someone who is irreplaceable.
“…There is no replacing [Barkov], and we know that. But there is a sense of community in that room, and we’re all going to have to chip away at it together.”
Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad on Aleskander Barkov
There is a small chance that he could return if the Panthers make a deep postseason run, but it is still unlikely.
Tomas Nosek
Around the same time Tkachuk’s surgery was announced, the team announced center Tomas Nosek was going to be out for an extended period of time due to a surgical repair on his knee.
Last season, he scored a goal and assisted on eight others through 59 games. In the postseason, he had three assists with a plus-4 rating.
Dmitry Kulikov
The most recent addition to the injury lineup, Dmitry Kulikov suffered an upper-body injury against the Philadelphia Flyers on Oct. 9. Earlier this week, it was announced that he had surgery on said injury and is projected to be out for five months.
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A 2009 first-round pick by the Panthers, he only played in two games before going down with an injury. He registered no points and has a minus-1 rating. Last season, he potted four goals and tallied nine assists with a plus-12 rating. In this recent Cup run, he found the back of the net twice and was credited with three assists while honing a plus-6 rating.
This Is the Most Adversity the Team Has Faced in a While
The Panthers are no stranger to adversity. This ranges from coming into the playoffs as an eighth seed to being a road team to start in the playoffs multiple times. But this is a new type of adversity. Losing your top stars and good depth players is not easy to overcome.
But they’ve managed to stay at .500 through the start of the season. If they can hide their time and remain consistent, they should be able to get their guys back in time for a big push for the playoffs.
