Earlier this offseason the Florida Panthers and Aleksander Barkov kicked of discussions on a contract extension as he is slated to become an unrestricted free agent next offseason and if not signed to a contract he could be playing for another team.
Luke Fox of Sportsnet reports the Florida Panthers should do everything in their power to sign Barkov and prevent a John Tavares situation that happened to the New York Islanders.
Fox went on to say, Barkov is only 26. He’s one of the best two-way pivots in the sport. And this is a club that gave $10 million a year to Sergei Bobrovsky. Barkov should rightly become the highest-paid player in Panthers history. It is likely he will be looking for a $11 million/year contact.
If Barkov is signed to a big $11 million/year contract, the Panthers have to be careful as their other star, Jonathan Huberdeau will be a free agent in 2023 and will also be looking for a big pay day.
