Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov is the type of player who puts his money where his mouth is, or where his hands are, for that matter. The Finnish veteran is known for being extremely silent and stoic.
He’s proved that he’s the NHL’s best center by guiding his team to back-to-back Stanley Cups. But amid the hoopla of another magical Cup run, criticism emerged regarding Barkov’s apparent lack of production during the Cup Final series against the Edmonton Oilers.
Well, if there was any doubt as to why Sasha Barkov seemed “absent” at times, here’s the answer:
In Game 1 of the Cup Final, Aleksander Barkov “split the palm of his hand open.” It required sutures, but those were torn out twice, so they glued his hand together.
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 18, 2025
Still averaged over 23 minutes of ice time, playing key minutes against McDavid 🔒 (via @SnipesStripes) pic.twitter.com/yWrQOczTVL
The post showed Barkov slicing this right hand practically from end to end. Any mere mortal would not have been able to do very much with a cut like that, let alone play any sports.
Yet, Barkov didn’t miss a shift, all while keeping the gruesome injury under wraps.
It’s unclear how the injury actually happened. It’s likely more details will emerge as the offseason continues. What is clear is that Barkov didn’t let an injury like that slow him down. He played crucial shifts against Connor McDavid and the Oilers’ stacked top line.
While there’s no taking anything away from Conn Smythe Trophy winner Sam Bennett, one has to wonder if voters would have been swayed to vote for Barkov if they had known just how badly hurt he was.
Two Stanley Cups are not a bad consolation prize, though.
Aleksander Barkov was not the only wounded Florida Panthers' warrior.
As the dust settles on the Florida Panthers' second-straight Stanley Cup championship, more details are surfacing about the players who dealt with injuries.
Panthers coach Paul Maurice revealed that Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Reinhart were playing with seemingly catastrophic injuries.
Aleksander Barkov had a hand cut open in Game 1, sutures came apart twice before it was glued shut.
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) June 18, 2025
Sam Reinhart had Grade 2 MCL strain, Paul Maurice said
Matthew Tkachuk had adductor torn off the bone, he said pic.twitter.com/WCAsBawaE1
Tkachuk sustained an injury during the 4 Nations Face-Off. At the time, it was believed he was dealing with a groin pull. The injury was close enough to the adductor tear he was actually playing through.
The Panthers shut down Tkachuk for the remainder of the regular season. He returned to the lineup despite not being 100%. But that didn’t stop him from being a meaningful contributor to the team.
In hindsight, it makes sense why Tkachuk seemed off at times, especially during the first two rounds.
As for Reinhart, it would have been impossible to tell he had an MCL sprain given his four-goal performance in Game 6. His gritty performance throughout the postseason is a testament to just how strong hockey players can be.
The sorts of injuries that Barkov, Tkachuk, and Reinhart played through are enough to keep ordinary people out of commission for weeks, if not months, on end. But then again, professional athletes make a living out of taking the field, or ice, as the case may be.
So, it’s safe to say that Barkov and company have more than earned their paychecks.