Injured Florida Panthers ‘on schedule with recovery.’ All the details
As the Florida Panthers limped to the finish line of the 2025-26 regular season, they had more regulars out of the lineup than in it.
With Florida missing the playoffs and seeing its chance to win a third consecutive Stanley Cup end before it could begin, the Panthers have had plenty of time to rest, rehab and recover as they entered their first extended offseason in year.
President of hockey operations and general manager Bill Zito said that has been for the betterment of the team as it prepares to once again be back in the championship conversation next season.
Zito on Friday, speaking at the Baptist Health IcePlex as the first round of the two-day NHL draft was beginning, said that “everybody who was injured is on schedule with recovery.”
“Some folks, I think, are completely recovered; other people still are in some type of therapy,” Zito said. “I don’t think any of it is real significant.”
The biggest loss last season was captain Aleksander Barkov, who missed the entire campaign after undergoing reconstructive right knee surgery to repair the ACL and MCL following a training camp injury. Barkov began skating with the Panthers in practice late in the season and looked like himself again in May when he led Finland to gold at the 2026 World Championship. Fellow center Anton Lundell, who missed the end of the regular season with injuries to his ribs, also competed for Finland at Worlds.
Elsewhere:
- Defenseman Aaron Ekblad said the finger he broke on his right hand blocking a shot on March 31 that ended his season is healed although there were some annoyances that came with it. “Trying to flush the toilet with that hand wasn’t the easiest thing,” Ekblad said, “but now it’s fine. ... Even when it was hurting, I was golfing with just two fingers off my club, so it wasn’t too bad.”
- Forward Sam Reinhart (foot) said he’s done minimal skating so far but plans to start pushing hard on the ice around August. He has no concerns right now about being ready for training camp.
- With forward Brad Marchand (assortment of lower body injuries), there was the possibility he would need surgery. Zito said that ended up not being needed. “He’s tracking as planned,” Zito said, “so we anticipate him at training camp.
Other Panthers players who were sidelined to end the season included forwards Evan Rodrigues (broken finger) and Jonah Gadjoivch (neck) plus defensemen Niko Mikkola (right knee) and Uvis Balinskis (broken foot).
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