Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov will have surgery on his left knee on Friday. The team has not shared full details or a timeline for his return, but reports suggest he could miss a large part of 2025-26 season. This came shortly after Matthew Tkachuk was ruled out until December with a lower-body injury, leaving the Panthers shorthanded for the start of the season.Barkov has spent his entire NHL career with Florida since being drafted at No. 2 in 2013. He scored 20 goals and added 51 assists for 71 points last season. Barkov also had six goals and 16 assists in 23 playoff games, including the Stanley Cup Final. Losing Barkov and Tkachuk will likely have a big effect on the team’s scoring and leadership.NHL insider Elliotte Friedman said the franchise is preparing for the possibility that Barkov could miss the entire season."Going to know more in the next 24-48 hours, but Panthers are bracing for the possibility their captain, Aleksander Barkov, could be lost for the season. Would be brutal, no one wants to see that…but, unfortunately, was a bad injury," Friedman tweeted on Friday.Panthers reporter Katie Engleson tweeted on Friday that Florida coach Paul Maurice confirmed Barkov’s surgery. Maurice highlighted that the team must focus on what it can control.“It’s beyond our control,” Maurice said on Thursday, via NHL.com. “If he misses an exhibition game, or if he is out long term, it's just not going to affect that day. We have to win the hockey game. We have to prep for it. That's all.”The Panthers will start the season facing challenges without two of their top players.Sam Bennett's comments on Aleksander Barkov's leadershipAleksander Barkov and the Florida Panthers were ready to compete for a third straight Stanley Cup before his injury. He was a key leader on and off the ice, and it was evident in Panthers forward Sam Bennett's comments."He’s our leader on the ice and he’s our leader off the ice as well," Bennett said in June, via the Sun Sentinel. "He just sets the perfect example for everyone, especially young guys coming in, a guy to look up to. There’s no better player to look up to than 'Barky.' He just does all the little things right."Florida kept key players like Bennett, Aaron Ekblad and Brad Marchand in the offseason, while new additions include Jeff Petry, Daniil Tarasov and Jack Studnicka. Most of the team's core forwards and defensemen from last season’s Stanley Cup team remain. However, if Barkov misses the entire season, it will be a big loss for the Panthers.