Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov missed all of the 2025-26 season with a torn ACL. The forward worked to return to action this year, but he is already dealing with a new injury. In the second game of the season, Barkov was injured against the San Jose Sharks. Initial reports were that Barkov would miss ten to 12 weeks of action. While it later came out that he would likely miss less time, the speculation of who could replace Barkov for the long injury began. With the top center on the market being Dylan Larkin, the dots between the two were immediately connected.
With the fact that Barkov could be back as soon as six weeks, and the lack of cap space, speculation of Larkin joining the Panthers has been quashed, according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic.
“All of which should quell the speculation tying the team to Dylan Larkin. My understanding is that there wasn’t validity to that speculation in the first place. But with the news Tuesday, it becomes a moot point anyway,” LeBrun wrote. “Because Barkov will be back this season, it’s not like the Panthers can go out and spend his cap hit. Florida is also loaded at the center position already. And finally, in terms of planning out a bit further, the Panthers need to save for a rainy day — needing to extend Brady Tkachuk next summer, one year before the expiry of his deal. Which is to say, there’s a limit to how many shiny new toys the Panthers can go out and purchase.”
Article Continues BelowThe Panthers are tight on cap space. They have just $2.25 million in cap space currently. Still, the team could have cap space if another injury ends up being longer-term. Brad Marchand went down with a potentially serious injury on Tuesday night.
The Panthers are 2-0-2 on the year. They will return to the ice on Saturday for their home opener against the Minnesota Wild.