Barkov Injury Update Brings An End to Blockbuster Trade Rumor

The news on Tuesday that Aleksander Barkov is only going to be out for six to eight weeks essentially brings an end to any speculation that the Florida Panthers might be in the market for a blockbuster trade involving Dylan Larkin.

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Jameson Olive, a reporter for the Panthers, offered an update. He noted that Barkov will be out around two months. It’s a non-surgical rehab and he quoted head coach Paul Maurice, who said, “That’s our best window. Could be a little less, could be a little more.”

Given that this isn’t long-term, a trade that would have seen the Panthers add a high-end center with a sizeable salary cap hit is off the table now. That includes Dylan Larkin, who was instantly linked to Florida when the injury to Barkov looked serious. Given Barkov’s season-ending injury last season, fans feared the worst. This news is excellent news, relative to what it could have been.

The Panthers will have to find a way to fill in the gaps over the next two months, but they’ll likely do so internally.

With Barkov Back Sooner, Now What For Larkin?

With Barkov set to return in a couple of months, that might be bad news for Larkin. Pierre LeBrun recently reported that Larkin expanded his preferred trade list to around 10 teams, but also noted that most of them were contenders with tight cap situations and few assets to trade back. The Panthers were among them.

Now that they’re not going to be looking at Larkin — at least not in relation to the Barkov injury — the disgruntled Detroit Red Wings center will have to hope another team steps up for is suddenly in need.

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