Photo credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
Florida Panthers hockey misses Aleksander Barkov, and this injury update has fans circling his knee rehab.
A new graphic making the rounds says Barkov has resumed skating, which is the first word that can lift a room. The Panthers themselves have stayed careful, sticking to the longer recovery framing so far.
Barkov tore the ACL and MCL in his right knee during a training camp drill, then underwent surgery the next day. NHL.com pegged the expected recovery window at seven to nine months, with the regular season likely out of reach.
Aleksander Barkov recovery keeps Florida Panthers waiting
Honestly, when Barkov is out, the Panthers feel like they're missing the steering wheel.
On the ice, it's not just points, it's the way he stabilizes everything from the defensive-zone wall to the neutral-zone reload. Last season he still put up 71 points in 67 games, and he's the franchise engine with 782 points in 804 career games.
Tactically, Florida misses his first touch on exits and his timing as the low support when the forecheck pins their wingers. When he's healthy, Barkov turns messy shifts into clean changes, and that's a skill you only notice when it's gone.
He's also not some short-term rental, the 30-year-old is on an eight-year, $80 million deal with a $10 million cap hit. That kind of contract matches how they use him, heavy matchups, hard minutes, and leadership every night.
If this skating update is real momentum, the next meaningful milestone will be contact and full-team work, not a single lap on fresh ice. Until then, the Panthers will keep patching the middle, and everyone will keep counting the days in Barkov's quiet, stubborn way.