FORT LAUDERDALE — Florida Panthers captain Sasha Barkov reported to training camp this week after missing the entirety of last season following surgery to repair both his ACL and MCL in his right knee, an injury that derailed the defending champions’ bid to repeat.

Barkov blew out his right knee last Sept. 25, just minutes into his first on-ice session of the new season, when his knee buckled while driving to the net on defenseman Niko Mikkola. He spoke to South Florida media ahead of the team’s official report to camp Wednesday morning, Florida Hockey Now reported.

“I cannot take anything for granted,” Barkov said. “I was really excited for the season to start last year, and it was like, over. You have to enjoy every single chance to get to play hockey, to be with your teammates. Go to every practice, every game and be excited about that.”

Barkov was cleared to play for Finland at the World Championship after the Panthers’ season ended — a season that went sideways without him. Florida stumbled to a 1-4 start and sat eight points out of the playoffs at the Olympic break, effectively ending any thought of a late-season return for the captain. Coach Paul Maurice has said he hopes to use last year’s collapse as a motivating factor heading into this campaign.

“I think that’s a good year for us to use as motivation to be better, to bounce back and compete again for something big,” Barkov said. “Everyone has kind of been waiting to get going. Camp is going to be hard whether it’s long or short. It’s going to be hard mentally and physically. We’re all ready for that test, ready for this to start.”

Barkov credited the Panthers’ medical staff with keeping his rehabilitation on track. “I had really good people working with me here,” he said. “Thanks to them, everything went so smooth. It was easy; you just don’t think too much. You come to the rink, they test you out and ask ‘what can you do today?’ That was about it. … I had a really good plan, and did not jump too far ahead.”

Speaking at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in February, Barkov had struck a reflective tone about the long recovery. “It has been tough,” he said then, “but when something tough or bad happens, you try and find the positives. Maybe taking a long time off here will help me in the future to come back fresher, with a fresh mind, a fresh body. Hopefully my career will last longer.”

At the World Championship, Barkov tested the knee when he went down hard behind the net. “Nothing happened,” he said. “And I was like, ‘Nice.’ That’s very good news.”

Beyond Barkov’s return, the Panthers bolstered their roster by adding former Ottawa captain Brady Tkachuk and defenseman Radko Gudas — moves that have the locker room energized heading into what will be the healthiest Panthers squad since their 2025 Stanley Cup run against the Oilers. “Those guys fit our team really well,” Barkov said. “They do exactly what we’re trying to accomplish here. We want to play a simple, aggressive, fast-paced game. Those guys fit that criteria pretty well. You would rather have those guys on your team than to be playing against them.”

Barkov is expected to line up alongside Tkachuk when the Panthers open the 2026-27 regular season at Carolina on Sept. 29 at 5 p.m. on ESPN. Florida’s home opener is set for Oct. 10 against the Minnesota Wild at 6 p.m.