Barkov’s Legacy Continues to Grow as Panthers Captain Reaches Franchise Milestone

As with the end of every game, Aleksander Barkov walked into the dressing room, took off his gloves, removed his helmet, and sat down in his stall. 

Over his 10-year career, the Panthers captain has become known for his quiet demeanor and methodical approach to the game, both on and off the ice.

And to the captain, last night’s 5-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings was like any other game.

But it wasn’t just ‘any other game’.

The former second-overall pick had just made Florida Panthers history. With his assist on the Gustav Forsling goal last night, Barkov officially cemented his place in the Panthers’ record books.

The point, his 614th of his career, gave him sole ownership as the franchise’s all-time leading scorer, passing his former teammate, Jonathan Huberdeau.

But you’d have no idea if you were only fixated on Barkov. The current longest-tenured Panther has always been humble and will be the first to downplay his own personal achievements.

His teammates, however, were not going to let this historic achievement go off into the night quietly.

So before Barkov could remove any more of his gear, his teammates erupted in cheers and swarmed their loveable leader.

The jubilant celebrations brought a rare smile to Barkov’s face, in what was a brief moment of appreciating the years of handwork he has masterfully put into his craft.

ALL RISE FOR ALEKSANDER BARKOV 🗣️🗣️🗣️ pic.twitter.com/w4wnxQRSFc

— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) March 21, 2023

Where It All Began

Heading into the 2013 NHL Entry draft, there were three names floating around amongst the top scouts in the league, Nathan MacKinnon, Jonathan Drouin, and Seth Jones.

If you were on the hockey scene and lived in North America, these three prospects were already becoming household names well before they had even played an NHL game.

But then there was this “outlier” from Finland, Aleksander Barkov.

While many scouts were focused on these top prospects out of the CHL, the Finnish-born forward was making noise over in his native homeland.

Barkov was enjoying a productive second season with Tappara Tampere of the SM-Liiga, where his 48 points in 53 games, as a teenager playing with men, had caught the eye of at least one NHL general manager.

And so, on June 30th, 2013, inside the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, Dale Tallon of the Florida Panthers walked onto the stage and called out a name that shocked the hockey world.

“The Florida Panthers are proud to select, from Tampere Finland, Aleksander Barkov.”

The name was immediately met with mixed reactions from the crowd. The consensus amongst analysts was that after Nate MacKinnon went first overall, Seth Jones would go second.

And it certainly seemed to be the logical selection of picking Jones considering the Panthers didn’t have a top defenceman on their roster.

But they also couldn’t score.

So, to Tallon, it made sense to select a player who would make an impact on both the offensive and defensive side of the ice.

And the rest is history.

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Barkov Continues To Write His Legacy

After reaching the franchise milestone, Panthers reporter Katie Engleson asked Barkov to reflect on his time in Florida.

“I came here as a young guy, 17 years old,” Barkov started off saying.

“I got here and didn’t really speak English and didn’t really know anything about America or Florida. These 10 years flew by pretty much. It feels like I got here yesterday or a week ago and it’s just been one long season. I’ve learned a lot about Florida, about this organization. This organization has been growing a lot. A huge fanbase right now. We have a lot of support from them. I’ve been really fortunate and lucky to call myself a Florida Panther for the last 10 years, and hopefully for many more.”

The next thing on Barkov’s checklist will be bringing South Florida its first-ever Stanley Cup.

Their win over the Red Wings has the Panthers in a playoff position for the first time since November. And if the Panthers continue to play the way they have in March, (6-1-1) Barkov and his Panthers will get their shot at competing for that elusive first Stanley Cup, further cementing the great Finns’ legacy.