FORT LAUDERDALE — The Florida Panthers opened training camp with captain Aleksander Barkov back from injury and the Tkachuk brothers united on the same roster, setting the stage for a season the organization believes can return it to championship contention.
Barkov, who missed time at the end of the 2025-26 regular season, struck an optimistic tone at the team’s annual media day. “I feel great. Excited to be back, and just to see my teammates and get it going again with them. It’s going to be fun,” Barkov said. “Right now, we have a great chance to bounce back after last season. We’re all concentrated on that. We want to be better. So, of course, we take everything that we’ve learned over the last years. We accomplished a lot here, but we only take it as a fuel to move forward.”
Head coach Paul Maurice said Barkov’s return reshapes the Panthers’ identity. “He makes you a better coach, so I missed being able to call his name,” Maurice said. The coach added that he is more energized about the regular season than he has been in years. “I’m excited about the regular season this year, and I haven’t said that for three or four years,” Maurice said. “Just look what’s happened in the East. There’s a whole bunch of Stanley Cup champions coming out of the East over the last 10 years. A whole bunch of teams got better over the summer, so it’s on.”
The biggest offseason addition was forward Brady Tkachuk, who joins his brother Matthew in Fort Lauderdale. Brady Tkachuk acknowledged the transition still feels surreal. “It probably didn’t hit until we were flying down here that this is real life. It still doesn’t feel real. It still feels like I’m living a dream,” he said. “It’s a whole new system, whole new setting. For me, it’s going to try to be my best every single day and just be a sponge and learn as much as possible.”
Matthew Tkachuk said his brother has adapted quickly. “He’s been here for like a month, but it feels like he’s been here for about 5-10 years,” Matthew Tkachuk said. He also noted the roster’s physical transformation: “I’m small on our team right now. Like, it’s crazy. All the guys we brought in are all big, heavy guys that, you know, can skate, forecheck, protect the puck well.”
President of hockey operations and general manager Bill Zito said the energy at camp was palpable. “I think you will feel, if you’re around the group, an environment, a tension in the air, an anxiousness to get playing, an excitement to get back to the game,” Zito said. He credited Maurice for setting the tone: “He helps all of us be better, and it’s a privilege, and I can tell you, so much fun.”
Defenseman Aaron Ekblad pointed to Barkov’s return as a catalyst. “I’m so excited. I’m excited to just throw pucks up the middle of the ice, and it could be hip high or off his boots, and he’ll find a way to grab it,” Ekblad said. Forward Sam Reinhart highlighted the return of defenseman Radko Gudas, calling him “one of the best people that anyone’s kind of been around in the game.”
Maurice emphasized that his defensive corps will determine the team’s postseason fate. “It’s the defensemen that are going to decide whether you’re a winner or a loser, and who stops the other team,” he said. The Panthers are scheduled to play their first preseason game in the coming days, five months after their final regular-season contest of 2025-26.