FORT LAUDERDALE - When the Florida Panthers hit the ice for training camp this morning at the Iceplex, the goaltending picture will look different for the first time since 2019. Sergei Bobrovsky is no longer the scheduled starter for the season opener, ending an era that helped carry Florida to Stanley Cup championships in 2024 and 2025.
That change does not come lightly inside the room. Captain Sasha Barkov made it clear Wednesday that Bobrovsky’s departure lands hard.
“I don’t need to tell you guys how great of a person, how great of a teammate, a player, a goalie, he was for us, this organization, and community,” Barkov said on Wednesday.
“He did so much, literally, for everyone here and everyone loved him. It’s very sad to see him go.
Of course, it’s part of this business sometimes. I only have good things to say about him.”
Florida’s answer in net is familiar in a different way. The Panthers pulled off a major trade with the New Jersey Devils a day before free agency opened, bringing Jacob Markstrom back to South Florida. Markstrom was originally a Panthers second-round pick in the 2008 draft in Ottawa, and for a while he looked like the future in goal before being moved in the deal for Roberto Luongo in 2014.
Plenty has changed in Florida since then. Barkov is still around.
Dmitry Kulikov is still around. Goalie coach Robb Tallas is still around.
The team still plays in Sunrise.
Beyond that, the landscape is almost unrecognizable.
Markstrom, though, said he was eager to return once the opportunity came together. Luongo, now in charge of Florida’s goaltending department, was part of the push to bring him back.
“I had great conversations with Bill Zito, Lu, Robb Tallas,’’ Markstrom said in July.
“It gets your blood pumping a little bit. It’s a special feeling to be back in Florida, you know, where I was drafted.”
Barkov and Markstrom only overlapped for part of one season before the move that brought Luongo back to the Panthers before the 2014 trade deadline. Barkov’s rookie year had already been interrupted by a knee injury he suffered while playing for Finland at the Sochi Olympics.
Even in that brief stretch together, the two built a connection. Barkov still remembers a small favor Markstrom did for him when he first arrived from Finland in 2013: he lent Barkov his car so the 17-year-old could get his Florida driver’s license.
“I don’t have a car but I have the license,” Barkov said just as his first training camp was starting 13 years ago.
“I like it here in Florida. It’s nice.
It’s a place I’m going to enjoy living in. Everyone is nice, I have a lot of friends already.
They’ve helped me very much.”
He brought that story back up Wednesday when asked about Florida’s new No. 1 goalie. Barkov’s feelings were split between appreciation for Bobrovsky and excitement about Markstrom’s return.
”I got to get my driver’s license in his car,’’ Barkov said. “I remember that, I hope he does, too.
We had some fun moments that first season when he was here. I think he’s an unbelievable goalie.
A big goalie, too. He covers a lot of ice, competes a lot.’’
In Other News...
Barkovs Return Puts New Pressure On Panthers Heading Into Camp
Aleksander Barkovs summer return has given the Panthers a timely boost as they head toward NHL training camp, where the captain is expected to pick up the thread after recovering from a right knee injury suffered during Floridas own camp last year. He was back on the ice for Finland in an exhibition game and later helped his national team win the IIHF world championship, a sign that the long rehab is behind him and the Panthers can start thinking again about what their top center means to everything they do.
For a team chasing a third Stanley Cup in four seasons, Barkovs health changes the temperature of camp before it even opens. Florida has no shortage of expectations or pressure, and Barkovs presence only heightens both, because the Panthers know the season ahead will hinge not just on getting him back, but on getting him back fully ready to lead again when the games start to matter. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Camp Opens With An Early Roster Problem Fans Feared
Floridas training camp opened with a couple of expected names on the roster sheet, but not in the lineup. Panthers coach Paul Maurice said Brad Marchand will spend the entire month of October rehabbing from surgery, leaving the club to start the season without one of its newest pieces while it waits for him to work back from an August procedure. Marchand is still expected to return early in the year, but the timing makes for an early test of Floridas forward depth right out of the gate.
Jonah Gadjovich adds another layer to that challenge, with the winger now out indefinitely because of an upper-body injury. Gadjovichs absence is notable too because he is entering the first season of his contract extension after suffering the injury last October, and the Panthers were already going to need clarity on how their bottom-six group fits together. For a team trying to settle in quickly, the first days of camp have already turned into a reminder that the roster may not be fully formed for a while. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Camp Opens With One Big Test For This New-Look Roster
Training camp opened at Baptist Health IcePlex in Fort Lauderdale with the Panthers again carrying the look of a team expected to contend, even as the roster enters a new season with a few familiar questions attached. NHL.com has the Panthers among the preseason's elite, and The Athletic's view of them as a contender with a strong core only reinforces the idea that the standard in South Florida remains high, even if the long-term picture comes with some uncertainty.
One of the first items on the docket is Brad Marchands recovery after offseason surgery, with general manager Bill Zito saying the winger is expected back early in the season. The Panthers will handle that return carefully, and how quickly Marchand fits back in will be one of the early tests for a camp that already feels important for a group trying to stay near the top while managing the demands that come with another serious run. [Read more 🡒]