Now Paul Maurice has spoken – dismisses rumors about Aleksander Barkov

Aleksander Barkov‘s injury has led to estimates of a long absence for the Florida Panthers captain.

Now the team’s Paul Maurice has also weighed in on the matter. According to the head coach, the timeline for the Finnish star’s return remains unclear.

Maurice told the media after the team’s Monday practice that confirmation of Barkov’s absence duration would come only on Tuesday.

The media’s estimate of a 10–12 week recovery time received a blunt assessment from the Canadian coach.

– Don’t bet your hard-earned money on it. I know you can bet on everything these days. Keep your money. Seriously. If I don’t know, no one else knows, Maurice commented to the media after Florida’s Monday practice.

According to Maurice, the Panthers do not yet have enough information to assess the length of the absence.

– We need a certain amount of information before we can make our best estimate, and we don’t have that information. So everyone is just guessing.

Barkov’s season took a dark turn in just the second game of the regular season. The Finnish star was injured on Thursday against the San Jose Sharks after falling in a puck battle in the second period. He got up and headed to the locker room, throwing his gloves.

On Saturday, Florida placed their captain on the long-term injured list.

The setback came soon after a long rehabilitation. Barkov, 31, missed the entire previous NHL season after injuring his right knee on the first day of training camp. The injury required surgery to repair the medial collateral ligament and the anterior cruciate ligament.

Maurice believes that last season’s experiences will help the team in the current situation.

– It was a tough thing to go through last year. We have experienced it, so we will get through this too. We focus on today. There’s no point in looking a week ahead.

The duties of the top-line center from Barkov have been taken over by veteran Lars Eller, who joined the team from the Ottawa Senators in the summer. Maurice sees a reason for confidence in the team’s current situation: there are now more options to fill in for the injuries.

– This feels completely different than this time last year. We now have really good depth in the lineup, so experienced NHL players can come in to help, Maurice states.

The Panthers have collected four points from their first three games. The team’s record includes two overtime losses following the opening game victory against Carolina.