NewzThe Florida Panthers hit the ice on Thursday for their first official training camp practice ahead of the 2026-27 season.Led by head coach Paul Maurice, the Panthers are healthy and excited to get back to their winning ways after suffering through an injury-plagued season a year ago that saw Florida fail to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2019. Players were split into two groups during the first day of practice, with many of the team’s expected Opening Night roster going out with group one. That included Panthers captain Sasha Barkov, who missed the entire 2025-26 season after suffering a knee injury during his first training camp practice almost exactly one year ago.
Barkov looked like his usual self during Thursday’s practice, much to the delight of his coaches and teammates. One of the new faces on the ice was goaltender Jacob Markstrom. He was actually drafted by the Panthers all the way back in 2008 and made his NHL debut in Florida a couple years later, but only played 43 games in a Florida sweater before he was traded to Vancouver in the 2014 deal that brought Roberto Luongo back to the Cats.
Twelve years and 535 games later, Markstrom is back in South Florida ready to help the team that brought him into the league win another Stanley Cup or two. “Ever since I got here over a month ago, I’ve been super impressed with the team and the organization and what (owner) Vinny Viola has done to this franchise, its really impressive,” Markstrom said. In the mind of Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov, the difficult part of his comeback is already over.It happened in May, in a far-from-filled Swedish arena, when Barkov suited up for Finland in an exhibition against Switzerland for his first game since shredding his right knee in the Panthers’ first training camp practice 7 1/2 months earlier.
And on one of his very first shifts, he tumbled to the ice.Nothing bad happened.“Very good news,” Barkov said.That was it. That was all it took for Barkov to realize his surgically repaired knee was good, that he could play without fear or concern. A few weeks later, he hoisted the trophy when Finland won the IIHF world championship.And now he’s home in Florida, set for the start of training camp and ready to lead a team that — even after missing the playoffs last season — has been set by most sportsbooks as the favorite to win what would be its third Stanley Cup in a four-year span.“Don’t take anything for granted,” Barkov said, when asked what he learned from not being able to play for Florida last season.
“You just have to enjoy every single chance you get to play hockey, to be with your teammates, to go to every single practice, every single game. You’ve got to be excited about that.”The Panthers — who were holding media day on Wednesday in advance of Thursday’s first practice of camp — have plenty of reasons to be excited. Many core players from the runs to the Cup titles in 2024 and 2025 are back, names like Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad, Carter Verhaeghe, Gustav Forsling, Brad Marchand, Anton Lundell, Dmitry Kulikov and Niko Mikkola.Brady Tkachuk, Matthew Tkachuk’s brother, has been added to the mix and Florida even brought Radko Gudas — a fan favorite from his first stint with the Panthers — back to help shore up the defense.
And in net, with Sergei Bobrovsky gone to Toronto, Florida is turning the goaltender job over to Jacob Markstrom.“Every single guy who has come in, they look so determined to be their best and to show their best,” Barkov said. “But they also know that we’re all in this together. Every single person is important, and every single has their own abilities to lead in their own way.
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