The Florida Panthers’ playoff outlook just got a lot less certain.
Captain Aleksander Barkov was placed on Long-Term Injured Reserve over the weekend, which keeps him out for at least the next 10 games and possibly longer. Florida did not attach a specific timeline to the injury, but the LTIR move makes clear this is not a short-term absence.
That’s a brutal turn for a team that already lived through a season derailed by injuries. Barkov missed the entire 2025-26 campaign after hurting his knee in training camp, and now, one year later, he’s dealing with another knee injury on his other leg in just his second game of 2026-27. The Panthers also missed the playoffs last season, with injuries to Barkov, Seth Jones, Brad Marchand and others playing a major role in that collapse.
So where does that leave Florida in a deep Atlantic Division?
On Monday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk, former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton and former NHL defenseman Cameron Gaunce dug into exactly that question. Yaremchuk pointed out that the LTIR designation signals an extended absence and asked whether the Panthers still deserve to be viewed as a lock.
Gaunce’s answer was straightforward.
“Not a lock. Without Barkov, it alters their lineup drastically.
Everyone gets slotted differently. When you play next to Barkov, everyone is a first-line forward.
He elevates everyone around him. But now when you start moving things around … it just slots things differently.”
He still called Florida a strong team, but not one he’d stamp as a sure thing without its captain.
“They’re still a very good team, but a playoff lock, to me, is not there anymore. You remove a top-10 player in the league from your team, and it’s not as if it happened in the summer where you can plan around it. The expectation was that he was going to be there for the full season.”
Gaunce also noted that Barkov had looked close to himself while playing for Finland at the World Championships, which only made the setback feel more jarring for Florida.
“When you watched Barkov play at the World Championships for Finland, he looked like he was already back to form. That team had certain aspirations of what they were going to look like.
Now things get thrown around in the blender. They’re still a good team, but I don’t see them there, anymore…”
In Other News...
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Brad Marchand gave Florida the lift it needed with his first goal of the season to pull the Panthers level late in regulation, setting up a chance to finish the comeback. Instead, the power play never delivered for Florida, going 0-for-4, while Anaheim cashed in repeatedly with the extra skater and eventually found the finish it needed to put the Panthers in a familiar kind of sting. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Suddenly Face A Costly Barkov Question They Cant Ignore
Aleksander Barkovs injury has put the Panthers in an all-too-familiar midseason holding pattern, with the captain expected to miss some time while an MRI is set to help clarify the full extent of the issue. Any absence for Barkov changes the look of Floridas center depth and forces the front office to at least consider how much strain it can absorb before needing outside help.
NHL Networks Elliotte Friedman added a new layer to the conversation by floating Detroit Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin as a potential name if Barkovs situation drags on, but the idea comes with a significant hurdle. Detroit is not interested in a rebuild and would want a player who can help right away in return, which makes any serious pursuit a complicated match for Florida if it ever gets that far. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Suddenly Face An Early Blue Line Test
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Paul Maurice also confirmed Brad Marchand will make his 2026-27 season debut, adding another notable layer to the days roster news. Between the turnover on defense and the addition of a player many around the team have been waiting to see in game action, the Panthers have a little more sorting out to do than they did a night ago. [Read more 🡒]