Florida captain Aleksander Barkov will not need surgery, out 6-8 weeks, Panthers say

Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov will avoid surgery and is expected to miss six to eight weeks after suffering a knee injury. Head coach Paul Maurice confirmed the rehab timeline on Tuesday, projecting Barkov will likely miss between 20 and 25 games.

Barkov injured his left knee during an overtime loss at San Jose on Thursday and was subsequently placed on long-term injured reserve. The injury occurred after Barkov missed the entire 2025-26 campaign following previous knee surgery.