The greatest player in Florida Panthers history now has statistical validation to go along with his reputation: Aleksander Barkov is the franchise’s all-time points leader and his record-setting assist teed up the game-winning goal in another huge victory.
The All-Star center set a new club record with 614 points Monday, taking sole possession of the all-time lead with a second-period assist against the Detroit Red Wings. It led to the decisive goal in the Panthers’ 5-2 win and the victory moved Florida into sole possession of the second wild card.
The record-setting assist was a fitting one: Florida strung together a long possession in the Red Wings’ zone and Barkov, with his two-way play and puck-possession abilities, made it happen. He beat Detroit to loose puck behind the net, made a smart pass to forward Sam Reinhart behind the net and then drew the defense’s attention to open up a passing lane to get the puck to Gustav Forsling. The defenseman scored to put the Panthers up 3-1 with 8:27 left in the second period and the Red Wings never closed the gap at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
All-Star right wing Matthew Tkachuk and six-time All-Star forward Eric Staal also scored in the win, and forward Carter Verhaeghe scored twice. Staal and Verhaeghe both scored in the final four minutes after the Red Wings cut Florida’s lead to 3-2 to lock up the Panthers’ sixth win in seven games.
Barkov tied the points record, which was previously held by star left wing Jonathan Huberdeau, on Saturday when he set up Reinhart for a victory-clinching, empty-net goal in the final minute of Florida’s win against the Devils. Huberdeau set the Panthers’ all-time record last year before Florida traded him to the Flames in the offseason in exchange for All-Star right wing Matthew Tkachuk.
Like Huberdeau was, Barkov is a Panthers lifer, coming to Florida as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft and playing his entire career in Sunrise. He recorded 24 points as an 18-year-old rookie during the 2013-14 NHL season, had 60 as a teenager, and 119 before his 21st birthday and has topped 50 points in every season since his second year in the league. The record-setting point was his 61st of the season, and he’s on pace for the fourth highest-scoring season of his career despite missing more than a dozen games due to injury and illness.
His 614 career points consist of 238 goals — also a franchise record — and 376 assists. Huberdeau still holds the franchise’s all-time records with 415 assists and 671 games played.
The points are only a part of Barkov’s greatness and importance to Florida, though. The 27-year-old Finn has been the Panthers’ captain since 2018 and he promptly won the Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship in the following season. He also won the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the league’s top defensive forward in 2021 and has twice represented Florida in the NHL All-Star Game, including in February when the game was at FLA Live Arena.
By the time he’s done playing, the gap between Barkov and every other Panther could — and should — be massive. The star forward signed an eight-year, $80 million extension with Florida in 2021, which will keep him in Broward County until 2030.
