The Florida Panthers have noticed a change in Aleksander Barkov, a clear indicator that he is not the same since getting hurt a year ago and having to miss last season.
asserted
he → notice → Barkov
They’ve caught him ... smiling?
asserted
him → catch → ?
It has been a running joke around the Panthers for years, that Barkov — the team’s best player, the underrated superstar, the Finnish captain of the 2024 and 2025 Stanley Cup champions and holder of many franchise records — never smiles.
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Barkov → run → records
It’s not entirely accurate, though it certainly has seemed like Barkov is cheerier these days than perhaps ever before.
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Barkov → ’ → ?
“It’s awesome to see him happy, see him smile sometimes, and just enjoy playing hockey right now,” Panthers forward Anton Lundell said.
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Lundell → ’ → hockey
In a room overflowing with talent — Olympic champions like brothers Matthew Tkachuk and Brady Tkachuk, future Hall of Famers like Brad Marchand, elite goalscorers like Sam Reinhart, and a slew of past top-five draft picks like forward Sam Bennett and defensemen Aaron Ekblad and Seth Jones — it’s Barkov who sets the standard.
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who → overflow → standard
Barkov missed the entirety of the Panthers’ season a year ago after tearing the ACL and MCL in his right knee 20 minutes into training camp.
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Barkov → miss → camp
The Panthers wound up missing the playoffs, and that’s not a coincidence.
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that → wind → playoffs
But with Barkov back, everything seems possible for a team widely expected to once again contend for hockey’s biggest prize.
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everything → seem → prize
“I’m so excited,” Ekblad said.
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Ekblad → ’m → ?
“I’m excited to just throw pucks up the middle of the ice.
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I → ’m → ice
It could be hip-high or off his boots and he’ll find a way to grab it.
uncertain
he → find → it
I’m really excited to play with him again.
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I → ’m → him
We all know who Barky is and what he can do on the ice.”
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he → know → ice
Barkov’s presence is such that Florida coach Paul Maurice often asks himself the same question when contemplating various on-ice strategies for his club.
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Maurice → ask → club
“What would Barky do?”
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Barky → do → What
And that, more often than not, serves as his guide.
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that → serve → guide
Maurice coaches Barkov, and it turns out, Barkov coaches Maurice as well.
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Barkov → coach → Maurice
“He makes the coach better, because I can be wrong,” Maurice said.
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Maurice → make → ?
“But all I’ve got to do is put Barky on the ice and none of you guys are going to call me out on it, right?
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none → get → it
‘Hey, Barky, you’re up.’
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you → ’re → ?
He makes you a better coach, so I missed being able to call his name.”
In the fantasy hockey, all-about-points world, Barkov probably isn’t viewed as a star.
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Barkov → make → star
He’s never finished a season higher than 10th in the NHL points chase; his average finish on that chart over his most recent eight seasons was 24th.
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finish → finish → seasons
Given his penchant for turning down empty-net goals and opting to pass the puck elsewhere in those moments — something he’s done multiple times in his career — it’s clear that he isn’t into his own stats anyway.
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he → give → stats
Present those numbers to anyone in the Panthers organization as proof that Barkov isn’t among the elite of the elite, and you’ll get laughed out of the rink.
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you → present → rink
They point to the aggregate, the two-way play and the things not on a stat sheet.
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They → point → sheet
Over his most recent 10 seasons, Barkov had 722 points, 485 hits and 463 blocked shots.
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Barkov → have → points
No other NHL player reached those numbers in all three categories over those years; Toronto’s Auston Matthews and Winnipeg’s Mark Scheifele were the only others with at least 700 points, 400 hits and 400 blocks in that span.
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Matthews → reach → span
“Anytime you can add a top three player in the world, that’s definitely a good thing,” Matthew Tkachuk said.
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Tkachuk → add → world
“So, we’re welcoming him back with open arms.”
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we → welcome → arms
Barkov returning is like a free agent acquisition in some ways.
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Barkov → return → ways
He was with the team for home games last season; Florida prevailed 23 times on home ice, a total topped by only nine of the NHL’s other 31 clubs.
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Florida → prevail → clubs
He didn’t travel because of his rehab schedule; Florida won only 17 times on the road, the eighth-lowest total in the league.
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Florida → travel → league
Translated: Even when he couldn’t play, his mere presence had impact.
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presence → translate → impact
“He looks so good out there,” Matthew Tkachuk said.
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Tkachuk → look → ?
“He’s just such a special player, even better person, which is crazy because of how good he is on the ice. On- and off-ice, he has just such a huge impact for this team, for this franchise, the city.
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he → ’ → franchise
He’s the full package.
asserted
He → ’ → ?
And we need him back and he looks great.
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he → need → him
Barkov is a reluctant superstar, someone who still gets sheepish when approached by fans for an autograph or a selfie.
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who → get → autograph
He went to Miami Heat training camp a few days after getting hurt last season and was genuinely surprised at how many coaches and players from the NBA club wanted to talk with him.
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club → go → him
…and 6 more, not listed.
The Aporia
