Ever since Aleksander Barkov was named the Florida Panthers’ captain in 2018, the Cats haven’t missed a single postseason. Many, including the NHL franchise’s general manager, Bill Zito, believe that it was the Finnish star’s leadership that helped to bring about the change. And now, as the three-peat looks like a towering challenge, the GM comes clean on what the boys need to do.

On Saturday, the reigning champs’ general manager talked to reporters about the road ahead and the leadership situation inside the locker room. On being asked if Barkov’s injury could work as a “rallying cry” for the team, Zito said, “Yeah, I hope that it will be, and it’s going to be, everybody’s going to have to do a little bit different.”

Last Thursday, the back-to-back Selke trophy winner got carried off the ice after a collision with teammate Niko Mikkola during a practice session. It was later revealed that Aleksander Barkov had sustained MCL and ACL injuries and would be out of action for 7 to 9 months. Gruesome news, even before the 2025-26 season started. Under such circumstances, Zito can only hope for the best and rely on other players. He revealed further how head coach Paul Maurice is injecting some extra motivation into his players.

“Paul had a great point that he made in a conversation. He said, ‘Look, you can’t replace this guy. So we have to do things differently,’” Zito said about how the coach is looking at the situation at hand. Aleksander Barkov posted 22 points (six goals, 16 assists) in 23 games during the playoffs, again showing why he’s one of the best defensive forwards in the league. Therefore, it’s understandable that Zito & Co. believe it will take a lot to fill his void if the Panthers wish to retain the Stanley Cup in Miami.

“We’re going to have to figure out ways for all of us to be better, myself included, and it’s going to be a fight. It’s going to be a battle, we’re going to have to scratch and claw,” Zito went on about how steep the imminent climb looks for the players as well as the management. Bill’s worries aren’t unjustified. After all, Maurice firmly believes that handing over Barkov’s responsibilities to anyone else isn’t the easiest thing to do, to which many fans also seem to agree.

“He’s such an important place in that locker room. What we’re going to get to experience now is you’ll get to know some of the other leaders that we have in our room… At the end of the day, I know there’s the idea of next man up, I get all that, but there’s not a next man for his skates,” Maurice said just a day after Barkov’s health condition was made public. Sasha’s fellow Panthers and national teammate, Anton Lundell, also noted his feelings on the matter. “You never want to see anybody get hurt, especially Barky on the first day, the first practice of camp. The mood was a little bit down, for sure, yesterday,” the 23-year-old center stated.

Moreover, Matthew Tkachuk won’t be available until December because of a lower-body injury. With Chucky’s aggressive attacking and Barkov’s double-play off the table for the months to come, it’s dark days for the Panthers organization. But, hey! Not all is bleak.

Aleksander Barkov’s woes have his teammates locked in

Surprisingly, though, while the GM, the head coach, and the fans seem to be concerned for the most part about the Cats’ three-peat chances, the athletes aren’t too eager to go down without a fight. “We’ve got to move on as a team and it’s time for everybody to step up,” said Lundell about how he and his teammates need to accept reality and set their eyes forward. He continued, “We have so many great players. We had guys last year that didn’t even get to play sometimes that deserved to play. I think it gives some guys an opportunity,” Carter Verhaeghe also noted how the gap in Florida’s first line provides an excellent opportunity to those who want more recognition.

A similar thought was posited by star winger Brad Marchand yesterday as well. “You know, you can have guys go down and still have success, because there’s not one player that you rely on… Obviously, it’s unfortunate that we lost our best player and our best leader. Again, that just creates the opportunity for someone else to be big, someone else to fill into a hole that maybe they didn’t think they were needed for a while because Barky was there,” said the ex-Boston captain during a presser.

Verhaeghe just can’t forget the fact that the Panthers have proven every naysayer wrong before, and think they can do it this time, too. “It’s another challenge for our group, and we’re usually pretty good at overcoming challenges,” reminded the Canadian center. Do you share his optimism? Or are you more of a fellow walker on Zito’s road when it comes to the Aleksander Barkov business? Tell us!