The Florida Panthers are preparing for the worst after captain Aleksander Barkov sustained a knee injury during Thursday’s practice.
According to TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger, more imaging will be done on Barkov’s right leg, but initial tests have not been good.
“My understanding is that mid-day, there’s going to be additional imaging and testing, so that means he’s going to have another MRI today. Word is, it’s not good. They know it’s not good in Florida,” Dreger said on TSN Radio Friday morning.
“They don’t know specifically what that means and how long he’s going to be away.”
The 30-year-old sustained a non-contact injury on Thursday and remained down for several minutes before being helped off the ice by the team’s training staff.
The Panthers are expected to provide an update on Barkov later on Friday.
The Tampere, Finland native is set to enter his 13th NHL season after Florida selected him with the second overall pick in the 2013 draft.
Now a two-time Stanley Cup champion, Barkov is coming off of a 20-goal, 51-assist campaign last season in which he also won the Frank J. Selke Trophy for the second consecutive year, the third of his career. He had six goals and 22 points over 23 playoff games.
If Barkov were forced to miss time with the injury, Florida would be down two of their top forwards with winger Matthew Tkachuk already set to be out until December, at the earliest, while recovering from surgery to repair a torn adductor and sports hernia he played through in the playoffs last year.
Dreger says he expects general manager Bill Zito to be aggressive to keep the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions in the playoff hunt until Barkov and Tkachuk can return to the ice.
“You’ve got Matthew Tkachuk, who’s on the sidelines until December. And now we wonder about Barkov and how long-term that’s going to be. Bill Zito is a very aggressive GM so he’ll figure it out. You don’t replace players like that, but he’ll figure out a way to at least keep the deep in the mix.
Maurice: Barkov’s injury ‘Beyond our Control’
“It’s beyond our control,” Maurice said of the injuries the two-time defending champions are facing. “We have to learn to win hockey games without good players. If that’s the adversity or the test that we face this year, then that’s what we’re going to do. I’m not a doctor, so whatever the report is won’t affect how we handle the next days.
“If he’s not in the lineup on opening night or if he misses an exhibition game or if he’s out long-term, it’s just not gonna affect that day. We’ve gotta win hockey games. We’ve gotta prep for it. That’s all.”
“Not a guy you want to see go down, for sure,” Panthers forward Jesper Boqvist said of Barkov on Thursday.