The Florida Panthers are gearing up for a late-season playoff push as the NHL gets set to resume its season following a nice, long break for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Many of the Panthers players who have been battling injuries are either now healthy enough to return or nearing that level.
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Over the weekend, Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice provided updates on all of those players.
The only guys who are not expected to play in a game in the next couple weeks are Florida captain Sasha Barkov and defenseman Seth Jones.
Barring any setbacks, every else who has either been out long-term or missed time recently with a minor injury – Aaron Ekblad, Brad Marchand, Evan Rodrigues, Tony Bjornfot, Dmitry Kulikov, Jonah Gadjovich, Tomas Nosek and Daniil Tarasov – should be back in the Panthers’ lineup in or around a fortnight.
As for Barkov and Jones, it’s going to be a little longer for them.
Jones is around a week away from being cleared to re-join regular team practices, though he’ll likely start off wearing a non-contact jersey.
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With Barkov, he’s still got quite a few hours to log in regard to rehabbing his surgically repaired knee.
Both Barkov and Jones have been skating on their own, getting in work with Panthers Skills Coach Max Ivanov.
Over the weekend, Ivanov posted some very cool footage of one of those sessions on social media.
You can check it out below:
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Photo caption: Mar 30, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers defenseman Seth Jones (3) celebrates with center Aleksander Barkov (16) after scoring against the Montreal Canadiens at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
