The Florida Panthers and the hockey world as a whole are still coming to grips with the reality that Aleksander Barkov's season could be over before it even started.
A somewhat innocent-looking collision with Niko Mikkola at practice last week resulted in a devastating outcome: a torn ACL and MCL.
Barkov underwent surgery the next day, further confirming that the major injury would sideline him for the entirety of the 2025-26 regular season, and very likely the playoffs, given the 7-to-9-month timeline that was provided.
However, we know Barkov's work ethic is as good as it gets, so maybe we shouldn't put it past him to return quicker than originally expected. Further to that, Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra revealed that the Panthers captain told him he'll be back in 5 or 6 months when visiting the team at practice on Wednesday. Five Reasons Sports shared the clip with his comments on X (formerly Twitter).
"It is heartbreaking to see him on crutches, but then you talk to him and he says, 'Oh no worries, I'll be back in 5 or 6 months. I love that spirit; yeah, I love that guy," Spoelstra said.
Erik Spoelstra gushing about Sasha Barkov, who is at Heat camp today … and told Spo he will be out 5-6 months pic.twitter.com/NNJG9W3Ag6
— Five Reasons Sports 🏀🏈⚾️🏒⚽️ (@5ReasonsSports) October 1, 2025
The 30-year-old was about to enter the fourth season of the eight-year, $80 million contract extension he signed with the Panthers back in 2021.
6 months could get Barkov back for the postseason
While it's impossible to predict how quickly Aleksander Barkov is going to heal from such a serious injury, let's take a look at the potential that he hits that 6-month timeline suggested.
If that were the case, Barkov would be slated to return sometime in April of 2026, which, of course, is when the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin, usually mid-month.
Even if the Panthers were to be cautious with their superstar center, rounds two and three tend to be in May, while the finals fall into June.
This is all still very premature to be projecting, but it's just a reminder not to count out a potential Aleksander Barkov return this year, especially given Florida's recent track record of deep postseason runs.