Aleksander Barkov's Injury Opens the Door for the Rest of the NHL's Stanley Cup Hopes

The news of Aleksander Barkov's knee injury and sudden surgery to repair it has sent shockwaves through the NHL and we're not even out of training camp yet.

The Florida Panthers might be without their captain for the season and considering they were already going to be without Matthew Tkachuk to begin the year, it's put the two-time defending champions in a massive bind before the season officially begins.

Losing a team captain who also happens to be a three-time Selke Trophy winner is a crushing blow for Florida. For teams in the Eastern Conference and the Atlantic Division, the loss of Barkov, while unfortunate for Florida, opens a window of opportunity for contention.

Barkov is Florida's No. 1 center in every situation. Whether it's 5-on-5, power play, or penalty kill, he's the guy getting the call in the most significant moments. The Panthers' captain had 71 points in 67 games last season and added 22 points in 23 playoff games.

If you want to get into fancy stats, Barkov's Corsi percentage at 5-on-5 during the regular season was an outstanding 60.12 percent last year, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Replacing a player like that doesn't happen.

His production, the ability to match up and shut down other teams' top centers, and the way the team rallies around his performance are unmatched. The Panthers will attempt to compensate for Barkov's loss by asking Sam Bennett and Anton Lundell to step up significantly.

Bennett, the newly re-signed $8 million a year man, was able to excel in a second-line role while Lundell's two-way excellence got the better of matchups on the third line. While we know how much of a bear Bennett is on opposing teams in most situations, as a No. 1 center, the physical and defensive prowess are needed, but so is the offense.

Since joining Florida, Bennett has been a steady 40-50 point player, scoring between 20 and 25 goals per season. Those are strong numbers for a No. 2 or 3 center, but the Panthers will need it to translate better in an elevated role.

While Bennett's role is understood, the guy who will need to elevate is Lundell. He's been an outstanding centerman in a depth role and having guys like Barkov and Bennett in front of him has allowed him to grow the past four seasons, but the responsibility and need for him to produce shifts dramatically now. Being a 35-to-45-point player and playing 15-to-16 minutes a night is great, but an offensive glow-up would go a long way to saving the Panthers.

If Bennett and Lundell struggle, the temptation and pressure to make a big trade to try and replace Barkov's production will be there as well and there won't be a shortage of rumors either. You're going to hear the biggest names tossed around (Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jason Robertson) and if Barkov is going to be done-done for the year and the playoffs, imagine how GM Bill Zito will feel about indulging those potential opportunities. There'll be no shortage of discussion, rest assured.

Asking for Bennett and Lundell to step up and fill Barkov's roles is going to be tough, but teams in the Atlantic Division are not about to shed any tears for them.

The Atlantic, competition-wise, is like Thunderdome. Eight go in, and over the past three years, the only one to come out of it alive was the Panthers. For teams like Tampa Bay and Toronto, who have faced Florida repeatedly, this presents a significant chance to overtake the Panthers in the standings. For teams on the come-up last season, like Ottawa and Montréal, this is their door to walk through to make their own way up the leaderboard a lot easier.

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Even for the teams that finished out of the playoffs like Detroit, Buffalo and Boston, with this kind of opening for them to get an edge and maybe get back to the playoffs themselves, stepping on Florida while they're down is the chance you dream of.

The Panthers were the untouchable team and the virtual auto-lock for the postseason. Now it'll be as much of a fight for them as it is for everyone else.

As much as the teams in the Atlantic are salivating at the opportunity to put the Panthers down, imagine what teams like Carolina and Washington are thinking as well. The Hurricanes had a tough time trying to contain Florida in the East Final last season, and it left them wondering what more they needed to do to take that next step. The Capitals, similarly, had a lot to evaluate after their earlier-than-they-wanted exit from the playoffs at the hands of the Hurricanes.

If the Panthers are coming back to earth, it creates an opportunity for them to capitalize on that power vacuum.

Even more tantalizing is what the Edmonton Oilers must be thinking. After getting denied by the Panthers two straight years in the Stanley Cup Final and having to watch Barkov take time, space and opportunities away from Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, if a nemesis like that is off the table this year, thinking about who else in the league is capable of staying with their dynamic duo on the defensive side doesn't take too long to run down the list.

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The Oilers aren't the only ones keeping a stray eye on the East with a weakened Panthers roster. Winnipeg, Dallas, Colorado, Vegas… they're all thinking about what it could be like to get through the Western Conference gauntlet and then not have to deal with the Panthers in the end.

The Panthers' absence of Barkov is a game-changing moment for them and for the entire league. It's not as if the Panthers were in a Thanos-like role where they're inevitable; it's just the way they've played the past three postseasons, and winning the Cup the past two years makes it feel that way.

Every team has to take care of its own business first and foremost, of course, but if the final boss is weakened, it presents a mental opportunity for everyone to capitalize on.

It's also a chance for the champions to show why they're the team to beat.