New NHL rules may spell disaster for Florida Panthers in playoffs for Barkov injury
Photo credit: Sam Navarro - Imagn Images
The Florida Panthers just got struck with brutal news that Alexander Barkov will be out long term with injury, but it may also hurt them in playoffs.
The NHL is implementing new CBA rules this season to address the LTIR controversy in playoffs. Under the new rules, teams can't ice playoff rosters over the salary cap anymore.
Aleksander Barkov may be ineligible to return to play in playoffs for Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers will still be able to add $10M in salary to their roster while Barkov is out with injury, but if they do, he won't be able to return to play in the playoffs. Experts at PuckPedia explained how the new rules will apply to Barkov.
If he's medically declared out for the full regular season and playoffs, they can exceed the cap by his full $10M and then he's ineligible to play this season or playoffs
With Matthew Tkachuk also out with injury long-term to begin the season, the Florida Panthers will be without 2 of their biggest stars for at least a majority of the season. The rest of their roster is strong, but they'll need to battle hard even for a playoff spot in a quality Atlantic division.
They could try to add new players while their stars are in LTIR, but then they wouldn't be allowed to return and play in the same playoff lineup.
It's never a good site to see a superstar player go down with injury in preseason and miss the entire year. The Florida Panthers will be a much different looking team this season, and likely in the playoffs too.
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