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Aleksander Barkov

Panthers Sign Noah Gregor To Two-Way Deal

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The Panthers announced Tuesday that they’ve agreed to terms with forward Noah Gregor on a two-way contract. He had been in training camp on a professional tryout agreement. The deal carries an NHL salary of $775K and an AHL salary of $450K, according to PuckPedia. In a pair of corresponding moves, the team also reversed yesterday’s paper demotion of winger Mackie Samoskevich to AHL Charlotte and moved Aleksander Barkov from standard injured reserve to long-term injured reserve, George Richards of Florida Hockey Now reports. Gregor’s contract won’t be registered with the league until those two moves are formalized, as Florida doesn’t have the cap space to add him to the roster until after gaining relief from Barkov’s LTIR placement.

While Gregor wasn’t on the opening night roster that Florida formally registered with the league last night, he will be eligible to play in tonight’s season opener against the Blackhawks. The six-year NHL vet made four preseason appearances for the Cats, scoring a goal and an assist while adding seven hits and a blocked shot in over 17 minutes of ice time per game. He won’t get nearly that much deployment in the regular season. The 27-year-old center has only averaged 12:19 of ice time per game across 293 career contests, and that figure has been trending down over the past few years.

It wasn’t all that surprising to see Gregor need to settle for a tryout. He also required one to land a contract with the Maple Leafs in 2023, and he has now been non-tendered for three consecutive years. That streak will end next offseason as he’ll be eligible for outright unrestricted free agency. The Alberta native is coming off his worst showing since emerging as an NHL regular with the Sharks in 2020. Splitting the year between Ottawa and San Jose, he tied a career-worst -21 rating in 52 appearances while making minimal offensive contributions – just four goals and three assists. While his high-end skating has always generated intrigue, it has rarely translated into a legitimate offensive impact. He’s only hit the 10-goal and 20-point marks once in a single season.

Nonetheless, he showed out well enough in Florida’s camp to earn another deal. The Panthers are in desperate need of cheap forward depth, as they’re virtually capped out despite starting the year with all of Barkov, Tomáš Nosek, and Matthew Tkachuk on long-term injured reserve thanks to the new rule that teams are limited to the previous year’s average salary (~$3.82MM in this case) in LTIR relief per player if their injury isn’t season-ending. After Gregor averaged only 11:06 per game last season, he’ll presumably be in the Cats’ fourth-line rotation along with returnees Jonah Gadjovich and A.J. Greer, late-offseason signing Luke Kunin, and preseason waiver claim Cole Schwindt. The two-way structure indicates he’s a candidate to end up on waivers when Nosek or Tkachuk is ready to return, depending on who comes back first.

As for Samoskevich, his quiet demotion yesterday was essential to Florida’s initial salary cap setup. The team submitted their opening night roster, which excluded the waiver-exempt Samoskevich and included Nosek and Tkachuk on LTIR, but listed Barkov on standard IR. That left the Panthers $4.55MM over the cap but with $4.6MM in relief from Nosek and Tkachuk. That set their initial LTIR capture within $50K of the maximum relief. Moving Barkov to LTIR then opens up an additional $3.82MM in space, which they used to recall Samoskevich (who also carries a $775K cap hit) and sign Gregor. After all those transactions are officially completed, the Panthers will have $2.27MM remaining in their LTIR pool, per PuckPedia.

Samoskevich, Florida’s 2021 first-round pick, will be in tonight’s lineup, presumably in a top-nine role. The 22-year-old finished 11th in Calder Trophy voting for the league’s top rookie last year with 15 goals and 31 points in 72 games.

Today’s moves also officially leave the door open for Barkov to suit up for Florida in the playoffs. He’s expected back sometime between late April and late June after he blew up his right ACL and MCL in his first practice of training camp, requiring surgery.

Evening Notes: Markstrom, Willander, Mancini, NHL Top 10

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The New Jersey Devils could be the next team to extend their starting goaltender. On the heels of a five-year, $34MM contract extension for Minnesota Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson, the Devils are now working out a new deal for Jacob Markstrom, per The Fourth Period. Markstrom is entering the final year of a six-year, $36MM contract originally signed with the Calgary Flames in 2020.

Markstrom earned a second-place finish in Vezina Trophy voting on the second year of his last contract, after posting 37 wins and a .922 save percentage in 63 games of the Flames’ 2021-22 season. He fell drastically in 2022, landing at a .895 save percentage in 59 games with Calgary, and only rebounded to a .905 in 48 games of 2023-24. That prompted a summer trade to greener pastures, landing Markstrom with a playoff contender in the New Jersey Devils. He posted a middling .900 save percentage in 49 games of his first season with the Devils. That’s far from the .910 mark that Markstrom routinely challenged at his peak, but on a well-rounded Devils squad, average numbers from the aging veteran have proven supportive enough. He is sure to take a big hit on both term and salary in his next contract, which could take him through the rest of his career.

Other notes from across the league:

  • The Vancouver Canucks made a pair of important decisions earlier today. They have assigned top defense prospects Tom Willander and Victor Mancini to the minor-leagues, after both clung to the camp roster to nearly the final day. Mancini played his first full season in the pros last year. It was certainly eventful, spread between NHL and AHL ice time with the New York Rangers and Canucks, and ending with a Calder Cup win with the Abbotsford Canucks. In total, he recorded eight points in 31 NHL games and 21 points in 54 AHL games on the season. Meanwhile, Tom Willander was a core piece of the National Championship runner-up, the Boston University Terriers. He posted 24 points in 39 games with the club – one point fewer, in one game more, than he managed in his freshman season. Willander is nonetheless a pillar of consistency on both ends of the ice, and will look to prove that soon with his pro debut in Abbotsford.
  • The NHL has announced their top-10 players, wrapping up their Top 50 Players series just two days before Opening Night. The list is, of course, headlined by Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid. His teammate, Leon Draisaitl, holds the third spot, while Colorado Avalanche superstars Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar hold #2 and #4 respectively. The rest of the list includes, in turn: Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov, Panthers center Aleksander Barkov, Penguins center Sidney Crosby, Jets goalie and reigning MVP Connor Hellebuyck, Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, and Canucks defender Quinn Hughes. It’s hard to argue any other names should be featured on the list, though Panthers fans may feel salt in the wound seeing their captain, and perennial Selke Trophy candidate, landing in the top-10 on the heels of a season-ending injury.

Aleksander Barkov Undergoing Knee Surgery, Out Seven To Nine Months

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6:04 PM: The team released an update on Barkov, noting that he sustained injuries to his ACL and MCL.  The surgery has now been performed and carries a typical recovery time between seven and nine months.  The short end of that timeline would potentially give him a chance of returning in the second round of the playoffs while the long end would mean that he would miss the entire postseason as well.

10:39 AM: Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov needs surgery to repair the right knee injury he sustained in his first practice session of training camp yesterday, George Richards of Florida Hockey Now reports. There’s no timeline for his return, and there’s fear he could miss the entire season, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

There is a clear video of yesterday’s incident. Barkov had a low-speed collision with teammate Niko Mikkola, bending as if he were attempting a hip check, which caused Mikkola’s weight to come down on top of him. He landed awkwardly on his right leg under pressure and was unable to get up without assistance (via WPLG Local 10 News).

A gargantuan hole now exists on the Cats’ first line, a position Barkov has held ever since entering the league as an 18-year-old in 2013. The back-to-back Selke Trophy winner is smack-dab in the middle of his prime at age 30 and is widely regarded as the best two-way center in the game, and for good reason. He’s now rattled off five straight seasons above a point per game, averaging a 33-62–95 scoring line per 82 games since the 2020-21 campaign. He’s also logged a cumulative +92 rating during that time and has won 56.1% of his draws. He reached new heights on the possession front last year, logging a career-high 60.8% Corsi share at even strength.

While the Panthers’ forward depth has been the hallmark of their back-to-back Stanley Cup wins, it’s already getting stretched thin. They’re now down two stars for at least the first few months of the season as Matthew Tkachuk recovers from offseason adductor surgery. Not having Barkov available down the middle also amplifies the impact of relatively minor injuries like Tomas Nosek’s. The natural pivot would have been in line to swallow up expanded bottom-six minutes normally, but he also underwent knee surgery recently and will miss multiple months.

This season’s new rules surrounding long-term injured reserve will now have a significant impact on the Panthers’ approach. If a player is not expected to miss the entire season, a team only unlocks the equivalent of last year’s league average salary – roughly $3.8MM in this case – in relief. That does not change based on the number of players on LTIR. If the Panthers were to make Barkov ineligible to play in the regular season or playoffs, though, they could unlock Barkov’s full $10MM cap hit worth of relief, assuming they optimize their capture correctly.

Florida already entered the season in a precarious position, projecting to exceed the cap by $4.5MM, per PuckPedia. While Barkov’s injury is a significant blow to their lineup, there’s now an easy out for them to achieve cap compliance by the time opening night rosters are due by ruling him ineligible to return this season, even giving them room to add a significant salary via trade to help shoulder his absence.

Until then, all eyes are on Sam Bennett and Anton Lundell to anchor Florida’s top two lines. Bennett has been a stellar second-line pivot for the Cats since his arrival in 2021, and although he’s fresh off signing an eight-year, $64MM extension, he’s never been tested in a top-line role. There’s an argument to be made that Lundell, the 12th overall pick of the 2020 draft, should see the greater increase in minutes. He’s filled in on the top line during short-term absences for Barkov in the past and has been a more effective per-minute producer than Bennett. The soon-to-be 24-year-old is also locked up long-term and had a career-high 45 points in 79 appearances last year, averaging 16:43 per game and winning 53% of his draws.

The Panthers have a few options to fill the domino effect and replace Lundell as the No. 3 center. Evan Rodrigues, frequently a top-six complementary winger, is a natural pivot and has taken over 2,500 draws in his 10-year career. He might be a better fit in the role compared to other potential flex-overs like Eetu Luostarinen, who the Cats would presumably like to keep with Lundell and sustain the chemistry they’ve built in consistent deployment together over the past few years.

There’s also now a clear opening for PTO invites, Noah Gregor and Tyler Motte to land NHL deals. Both now clearly slot in among the Panthers’ top 14 forwards with Barkov, Nosek, and Tkachuk all sidelined.

Image courtesy of Perry Nelson-Imagn Images.

Aleksander Barkov Wins Frank J. Selke Trophy, King Clancy Memorial Trophy

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The NHL has announced that Florida Panthers centerman Aleksander Barkov is the winner of the 2024-25 Frank J. Selke Trophy and King Clancy Memorial Trophy. The Selke Trophy is awarded annually to the forward who exhibits the best defensive acumen. The King Clancy Memorial Trophy is awarded to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off of the ice. This is the third time that Barkov has won the Selke, and the first time he has won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy.

Full voting results can be found here, courtesy of The Athletic’s Chris Johnston.

Barkov joins prestigious company with his third Selke win. He now sits alongside NHL stars Pavel Datsyuk, Guy Carbonneau, and Jere Lehtinen as the only players to have won the award three different times. Only two players rank above the quartet – legendary Bruins centerman Patrice Bergeron with six wins, and former Montreal Canadiens captain Bob Gainey with four wins..

Barkov’s place among greats is certainly fitting. He has built a strong reputation as a tireless worker – with the pace to win puck battles; the strength to win physical battles; and the tenacity to force opportune turnovers. Barkov posted the fourth-best xGA/60 (expected goals-against per 60-minutes) among all forwards with at least 850 minutes of ice time this season, per Evolving Hockey. Of note, no players ahead of him filled such a prominent top-end role for their club. In fact, Barkov’s 1.93 xGA/60 this season was far-and-away a career-best – trumping his previous best-mark of 1.97 set in the 2014-15 season.

It’s Barkov’s tenacity, drive, and ability to shutdown opponents that earned him both the Selke Trophy and the King Clancy Memorial Trophy. He embodied a lead-by-example style and has carried Florida to new heights as a result. The team has developed into a true modern-day dynasty, slated to appear in their third-consecutive Stanley Cup Final beginning this week. Florida lost in their first appearance, but managed to defeat the Edmonton Oilers to win the first Cup in franchise history last season. The Conn Smythe Trophy for 2024 playoff MVP controversially went to Oilers superstar Connor McDavid, though Barkov was the second-place vote on 15 of the 17 ballots.

Interestingly, the 2024-25 season will also mark the first time in Selke Trophy history that teammates will finish as the top two finalists, with winger Sam Reinhart ranking second behind Barkov. Reinhart was one of the only players to post a better xGA/60 than Barkov this season, though their marks are only separated by 0.01. Reinhart finished fourth in Selke voting last season. The pair of Panthers finish ahead of Florida compatriot and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Anthony Cirelli.

Atlantic Notes: Peterka, Woodcroft, Panthers

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In his new trade board entering the offseason, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff opines that Buffalo Sabres forward JJ Peterka is the top trade target. Peterka tied for second in scoring among Sabres players this season and will become a restricted free agent on July 1st.

Seravalli writes that several teams put together offers at the trade deadline for Peterka, but Buffalo General Manager Kevyn Adams had no interest in trading him. Despite Seravalli’s claim that a ’change of scenery’ is in order, it’s difficult to imagine the Sabres moving on from one of their top forwards this summer.

Still, Peterka has come into his own over the last two years, scoring 55 goals and 118 points in 159 games, with 93 of those points coming at even strength. It is reasonable to assume that Buffalo would receive a generous offer for Peterka, but he seems like a player the team should want to keep around for the long term. According to PuckPedia, the Sabres will have more than $23MM entering the offseason, giving them plenty of flexibility to seek a long-term contract with Peterka.

Other notes from the Atlantic Division:

  • Despite Washington Capitals assistant coach Mitch Love and Ontario Reign head coach Marco Sturm being labelled as the finalists for the Boston Bruins head coaching vacancy, Jimmy Murphy of RG has heard otherwise. Murphy posited that the Bruins have already begun ’talking money’ with coaching candidate Jay Woodcroft, but admits that Love and Sturm are still in the mix. There have not been other specific indications that the Bruins are negotiating a deal with Woodcroft, as the situation regarding the Bruins’ head coaching remains very uncertain.
  • In a humorous and candid quote, Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice describes the contrast between his team’s behaviour on the ice and off the ice. Giving most of the credit to captain Aleksander Barkov, Michael Russo of The Athletic writes about the Panthers’ tenacity, and sometimes dirty play during games, and their stout humility and respect in between puck drops. Recognizing this, Russo quoted Maurice, saying, “Have you ever shotgunned a beer? Have you ever been to church? Would you shotgun a beer in church? That doesn’t make you a hypocrite. There’s a context and a place for all things.“

Aleksander Barkov, Anthony Cirelli, Sam Reinhart Named Selke Trophy Finalists

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Panthers center Aleksander Barkov, Lightning center Anthony Cirelli, and Panthers winger Sam Reinhart have been named Selke Trophy finalists for the 2024-25 season, the NHL announced.

According to the league, the award is given “to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game.” It’s voted on at the end of the regular season by media members, like most other major NHL honors, and has been in circulation since the 1977-78 campaign, with former Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron holding the record with six wins.

Despite the verbiage, the Selke is almost never given out to a pure shutdown forward, at least not anymore. More of a “best two-way forward” than “best defensive forward” honor in reality, Barkov headlines the list as he looks to take home the hardware in back-to-back years and for the third time in his career.

Now a four-time finalist, Barkov’s boxcar stats actually point toward a down year for the Stanley Cup champion Finn. His 1.06 points per game and plus-one rating were both post-COVID lows for the 29-year-old, but he still added 54 blocks, 87 hits, and a 56.5% win rate in the faceoff dot. A look at his possession numbers makes it easy to see why he’s continuously regarded as the game’s best two-way center, though. His 60.8% Corsi share at even strength this year was a career-high and led the team.

Stepping into the finalist’s circle for the first time is Barkov’s cross-state counterpart in Cirelli. The 27-year-old finished fourth in Selke voting in 2019-20 and fifth in 2021-22 but never cracked the top three. That changes this year on the heels of a season full of career-highs for Cirelli, who scored 27 goals, 32 assists, 59 points, and logged a +30 rating in 80 appearances. His 18:41 of ice time per game was also a career-high. While he doesn’t receive Barkov’s 5-on-5 deployment, Cirelli is Tampa’s top penalty-killing forward and finished seventh among forwards in plus-minus this season.

Reinhart is the unlikeliest candidate to win, although it’s not really in his control. A winger hasn’t won the award in over 20 years – the Stars’ Jere Lehtinen was the last to do it in 2003. The 29-year-old finished just outside of being a finalist last year during his career-defining 57-goal campaign, and his nomination means the Panthers are the first team with two Selke finalists in a season since the Red Wings’ Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg in 2007-08. He finished 2024-25 with a 39-42–81 scoring line, a plus-six rating, 103 hits, and a 59.2 CF% in 79 games.

Brandon Hagel Receives One-Game Suspension

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Down 2-0 in their opening-round series to Florida, the Lightning will be without one of their top wingers for Saturday’s game as the league announced late Friday that Brandon Hagel received a one-game suspension for his hit on Aleksander Barkov on Thursday.

The incident occurred just before the midway mark of the third period with Hagel receiving a major penalty for interference on the play but not a game misconduct.  Barkov left the game and did not return; head coach Paul Maurice revealed Friday that the center hasn’t been ruled out or in for tonight’s contest.

In the video explaining the decision, the Department of Player Safety noted that supplemental discipline was warranted because Barkov was never in possession of the puck and therefore was not eligible to be checked.  After the puck was well past the players, Hagel delivered “a high, hard body check that makes some head contact.”

Hagel made the case that he approached the play as if Barkov would eventually play the puck as it came to him, but the ruling stated that “the onus is on Hagel to ensure that the player he is hitting is eligible to be checked” and that he intentionally delivered “an extremely forceful body check to an unsuspecting opponent with sufficient force.”

This is Hagel’s first career suspension in 375 regular-season and 36 playoff games. However, it’s not his first supplemental discipline for a playoff incident against the Panthers as he was fined for boarding Florida’s Eetu Luostarinen back in May 2022.

Lightning’s Brandon Hagel Facing Suspension

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Lightning winger Brandon Hagel will have a player safety hearing today for his major interference penalty against Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov in last night’s loss, the league announced.

Officials upheld the major for Hagel after reviewing the play, which occurred midway through the third period of Tampa’s eventual 2-0 loss in Game 2. While Hagel was forechecking on Barkov as the puck got dumped into the Tampa zone, he delivered a huge check as the two neared the corner. While there wasn’t a ton of head contact and the mechanics of the hit appeared rather clean, there was one problem – Barkov never had nor came close to having possession of the puck, resulting in a five-minute power play for the Cats (video via Sportsnet). Barkov didn’t return to the game after the collision, and the team has yet to issue an update on his status for Game 3 in Sunrise on Saturday.

Generally, supplemental discipline for interference doesn’t result in particularly long suspensions. That should hold true, especially considering the time of year, but Barkov leaving the game doesn’t bode well for Hagel’s case to walk away with just a fine. After scoring a career-high 35 goals in the regular season and setting the all-time record for goals in a season without a power-play marker, Hagel has no points and a minus-four rating through two games against Florida.

The 26-year-old isn’t the only one struggling to produce. Only Jake Guentzel and Brayden Point have scored for the Bolts thus far, and notable secondary names like Anthony Cirelli and Nick Paul have yet to record a point. Still, potentially missing him for Game 3 as the series shifts to South Florida will certainly make life harder for the higher-seeded Lightning as they try to avoid going down 3-0 in the series against the defending Stanley Cup champions.

Florida Panthers Injury Updates

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It’s challenging to think of a team that has dealt with more injuries over the last few weeks than the Florida Panthers. Two weeks ago, the Panthers were the top team in the Atlantic Division. Unfortunately, injuries have limited Florida to a 1-4-1 record in their last six games, watching the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning pass them in the standings.

However, there may be light at the end of the tunnel. Speaking to reporters this morning, head coach Paul Maurice commented on the status of nearly every injured member of the typical roster. First, Colby Guy of The Palm Beach Post reports that captain Aleksander Barkov will return to the lineup for Florida’s important matchup against Toronto tomorrow night. He had missed the Panthers’ past three contests with an upper-body injury.

Barkov’s importance in Florida’s lineup can’t be understated. As one of the premier two-way forwards of this era, Barkov helps the Panthers keep the puck out of their net just as much as he helps them put pucks in their opponent’s net. Since beginning his career during the 2013-14 season, Florida has a 60-63-16 record during the regular season when Barkov isn’t in the lineup.

Guy later reported that trade deadline acquisition Nico Sturm should also return on Wednesday, with defenseman Dmitry Kulikov expected back toward the end of the week. Shortly thereafter, TSN’s Mark Masters shared that Sam Reinhart and Gustav Forsling are also expected back in the lineup on Wednesday.

By the end of the week, Sam Bennett, Matthew Tkachuk, and Aaron Ekblad will be the only regular players who haven’t returned to the lineup. It appears that Bennett will not play in another regular season game for the Panthers.

Senior digital content manager for the team Jameson Olive shared that Bennett’s next game for Florida will be Game One of their Round One matchup, primarily for precautionary reasons. The physical middleman is dealing with an upper-body injury, and the Panthers want him to be as close to 100% as possible for what is bound to be a hotly contested opening round of the playoffs.

Florida has five games left in their regular season schedule, and it will be a challenge to overcome the difficulties they have faced in recent weeks. Currently, they are four points behind the Lightning and six points behind the Maple Leafs in the Atlantic Division. They risk losing home-ice advantage for their Stanley Cup defense. Still, with one game against Toronto and one game against Tampa Bay sandwiched between relatively easier matchups against the Detroit Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres, the Panthers could control their destiny for their opening-round matchup.

Florida Panthers’ Injury Updates: Tkachuk, Kulikov, Barkov, Sturm

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As the Florida Panthers gear up for a repeat run at the Stanley Cup, head coach Paul Maurice provide injury updates today on several key players, per team reporter Jameson Olive. Maurice noted that Matthew Tkachuk is still “a ways away” from returning from injured reserve after sustaining an injury in the 4 Nations Face-Off back in February. The team remains hopeful Tkachuk will be available for the playoffs. In 52 games on the season, Tkachuk has registered 22 goals and 57 points to go along with 84 hits. Now in his third full season with the Panthers, he has produced 265 points in 211 career regular season games with Florida, but was never more valuable than last season’s run to the Stanley Cup, where he produced 22 points in 24 games. The fan favorite’s return to the lineup will be a key to their back-to-back cup aspirations.

Maurice said the return of defender Dmitry Kulikov could come as early as next week. The 6’1, 212 Kulikov has been out since March 18 with an upper-body injury. The team announced on March 31 that he would be traveling with the club on their four-game road trip but would not appear in any of those contests. Kulikov has registered four goals, 13 points and a plus-13 rating on the season. Maurice added that veteran center Aleksander Barkov would have a similar return timeline as Kulikov. Barkov was injured in Tuesday night’s contest against the Montreal Canadiens and was subsequently kept out against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday. While he was also ruled out of this weekend’s games, based on Maurice’s update today, his injury does not appear to be serious or something that is expected to linger. Barkov has registered 19 goals and 67 points in 64 games on the season. By lighting the lamp one more time this season, Barkov would secure his 10th career 20-plus goal season. And just like Tkachuk, Barkov scored 22 points during last season’s playoffs.

Finally, Maurice also discussed center Nico Sturm’s expected return from an upper-body injury, noting that Sturm could return as early as the start of next week. Sturm, who was traded by the San Jose Sharks to the Panthers in March, has registered 14 points in 58 games on the season. He sustained his injury Tuesday against Montreal.

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