The Florida Panthers will begin their defense of the Stanley Cup on hard mode, as the team has confirmed that both captain Aleksander Barkov and star forward Matthew Tkachuk will be unavailable for their first game of the season against the Chicago Blackhawks. Barkov is expected to miss at least the entire regular season, a timeline of 7-9 months, after undergoing surgery on the ACL and MCL in his right knee following an injury in a training camp practice.

Tkachuk is also sidelined as he recovers from offseason surgery to repair a torn adductor muscle and is not likely to return to the lineup before December. The absence of these two cornerstone players, the team’s top leaders and forwards, presents a monumental hurdle for the Panthers as they embark on their quest for a third consecutive championship. Still, there has been some good news coming out of Florida’s camp as well.

As reporter Jameson Olive, wrote in an X post, “Gadjovich back at practice.” Jonah Gadjovich had been sidelined for a couple of days with a minor lower-body injury but is now expected to return to the lineup shortly. While not a direct replacement for the offense of Aleksander Barkov or Matthew Tkachuk, Gadjovich’s return is a boost to the team’s identity.

He played a big part as a physical, energy-forward player in the Panthers’ success during their last playoff run. In Game 3 of the 2025 Stanley Cup, the 6-foot-3 hockey star grabbed everyone’s attention for a pretty unexpected reason. So, with the Panthers up 5-1, the Oilers decided to start a line brawl, and it turned into five different fights! The highlight of it all was definitely the showdown between Gadjovich and Darnell Nurse from Edmonton.

After the fight, he mentioned, “It’s a physical sport. We stuck together as a team, and we’ve all got each other’s backs. I got tied up with Nurse. We were stuck together for a couple minutes there. It (the fight) felt pretty long. We love playing at home. It’s fun to feed off the crowd because they’re so loud and so supportive of us.” So, have you heard that Florida might need to take a bit of a risk with their captain if they’re serious about going for that three-peat?

The Florida Panthers have to gamble on Aleksander Barkov

Putting Matthew Tkachuk and fourth-line center Tomas Nosek on standard long-term injured reserve (LTIR) would provide about $4.6 million in relief for the Florida Panthers. This should help the team stay under the $95.5 million cap ceiling as the season begins. But when we talk about Aleksander Barkov, things start to lean towards two different stories.

The NHL team has the option to place Barkov on standard LTIR, which would provide around $3.8 million in relief. Plus, it keeps the possibility of him returning for the playoffs on the table. Another option, although it’s quite a big move, is to place him on season-ending LTIR. This would wipe out his entire $10 million cap hit, but it also means he’d be done for the rest of the season and the playoffs.

This decision is at the core of the risk. Going for the full $10 million in relief could give the Panthers some solid financial flexibility to grab a top-notch replacement through a trade. This move might just keep them competitive during the regular season. But that would mean letting go of the hope that their captain might return, the one who’s led the team in nearly every key stat and has even snagged the Selke Trophy three times. As time ticks away, the Florida front office has a big decision ahead of them.