The Florida Panthers announced on Monday that Aleksander Barkov would be their new captain for the 2018-19 season. Barkov becomes the ninth captain in Panthers history. He is taking the role from Derek MacKenzie, a 37-year-old that held the role for two seasons.
Aleksander Barkov Becomes Ninth Captain in Florida Panthers History
Barkov led the Panthers in scoring last season. The 23-year-old winger scored 78 points in 79 games. This set a career high, as well as became his third consecutive year of over 50 points. In terms of 2017-18 awards, Barkov finished fourth in the race for the Selke Trophy. This honor is presented to the forward who demonstrates the best ability on defense and was ultimately awarded to Anze Kopitar.
Barkov’s predecessor, MacKenzie, is still rostered with Florida for this season. He has only had one season of scoring over 15 points since being named the team’s captain. The Florida center has been a part of the Panthers roster since they signed him in the 2014 summer. The 2018-19 season will be the last on a contract that he signed in July of 2017, a two-year deal with an average cap hit of $1.375 million.
MacKenzie commented on the change of roles, saying, “I’ve been honored to serve as Panthers captain and I’m proud to hand the captain’s ‘C’ off to a leader as mature and deserving as Aleksander is.” He went on to mention the team’s depth this season, saying how excited he was to be a part of it.
Panthers general manager, Dale Tallon, also expressed his trust in Barkov. He said the time was right to name Barkov the team’s captain. “He has all of the qualities of a great leader: unrivaled work ethic, wisdom beyond his years and the respect and admiration of his teammates. Aleksander’s determination and passion for the game have made him one of the NHL’s best and most complete players.”
Barkov joins a pretty big list of recently announced captains. Amongst them are Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who becomes the fourth captain in Arizona Coyotes history, and Justin Williams with the Carolina Hurricanes.
