Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov sustained an apparent right leg injury during training camp on Thursday morning.
Per the Miami Herald, Barkov remained on the ice for several minutes and put very little weight on his leg while receiving assistance to the locker room. Neither the severity of his injury nor how he sustained it were immediately available.
Panthers coach Paul Maurice told reporters that Barkov still was being evaluated.
“I’ll have a better answer for you tomorrow,” Maurice said.
The two-time reigning Stanley Cup champions already are dealing with injuries to fellow forwards Matthew Tkachuk and Tomas Nosek. Tkachuk is sidelined until at least December while recovering from surgery to repair a torn adductor muscle and a sports hernia, while Nosek is out multiple months with a lower-body injury.
“It’s beyond our control,” Maurice said. “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 (on Barkov) won’t affect how we handle the next days. If he’s not in the lineup on Opening Night (versus the visiting Chicago Blackhawks on Oct. 7) 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.”
Barkov was named the Selke Trophy recipient as the NHL’s best defensive forward in June for the second consecutive year and third time in his career.
The 30-year-old totaled 71 points (20 goals, 51 assists) in 67 games last season and averaged 20:15 of ice time per game.
Barkov boasts franchise records for goals (286), assists (496), points (782) and games played (804) since being selected with the second overall pick of the 2013 NHL Draft.
–Field Level Media
