2021-22 Season Rewind: Aleksander Barkov

It's safe to say that Aleksander Barkov can no longer be described as "underrated" when talking about the NHL's top players, but his skills as a goal scorer might still be flying under the radar.
Despite being limited to just 67 games, the Panthers superstar captain surpassed the 30-goal plateau for the second time in his career while finding the back of the net 39 times this season, which was not only a career-best number, but also six more scores than any of his teammates.

On a broader scale, Barkov's .58 goals per game ranked eighth in the NHL.
"All you've got to do is watch a game," Panthers forward Sam Bennett said when asked about Barkov's unique skillset. "Every single game, he proves that he's an All-Star and he does something special. He makes it fun to watch."
Finishing 12th in voting for the Hart Trophy, Barkov, who would've undoubtedly ended up higher had he played a full campaign, ranked second on the Panthers with 88 points (39 goals, 49 assists).
Never going more than two games without making a dent in the scoresheet, his hottest stretch of the season came from March 29 through April 12 when he amassed 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) over a scorching eight-game point streak that consisted of six multi-point performances.
But, as usual, it was his two-way play that earned him the most praise from pundits.
A year removed from winning the Selke Trophy, which is awarded annually "to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game," Barkov was a finalist once again this season and finished third in voting, making him the first player in franchise history to be a finalist twice for the award.
Owning a 55.02 CF% at 5-on-5, the 6-foot-3, 215-pound native of Tampere, Finland, led Florida with a career-high 57% faceoff win percentage, while also racking up 59 takeaways. Averaging 2:10 of ice time per game on the penalty kill, he registered a team-high four shorthanded goals.
Over the last seven seasons, Barkov has finished sixth or better in voting for the Selke Trophy five times.
"Obviously, we know what kind of skill he has offensively," said longtime Panthers teammate Jonathan Huberdeau, who has played with Barkov since 2013. "Defensively, he has a long stick, and he just uses it. ... He just plays hard every time that he's on the ice."
In addition to hitting numerous milestones throughout the seasons such as earning the 200th goal, 300th assist and 500th point of his budding career, Barkov also became the franchise's all-time leader in goals (220) and needs to skate in just four more games to hit the 600-game mark with the Panthers.
And with his new eight-year contract kicking off in 2022-23, the record books will continue to be rewritten.
"When this all settles down, that feeling is going to be great," Barkov said after he surpassed fellow Finn and former Cats captain Olli Jokinen for the most goals in franchise history with No. 189 on Nov. 9. "So many great players have played for this organization, and Olli Jokinen played for a long time, played unbelievable hockey here. To be in the same category as him, it was never even a dream, and now it's a reality. I'm happy, but at the same just need to keep going and keep getting better."
Helping the Panthers advance past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 1996, Barkov notched seven points (two goals, five assists) in 10 contests throughout the team's postseason run.
Taking the lessons he learned from those high-intensity games, Barkov believes every player - including himself - will have more than enough material to work with this offseason as the Panthers will try to take another big step forward toward their ultimate goal in 2022-23.
"That's really good, but obviously right now we didn't reach the main goal," said Barkov, reflecting on the team's Presidents' Trophy-winning season. "That's disappointing for us. That's the thing that keeps us thinking about what we can do better as a group and as individuals.
"We have the whole summer to get better and then come back and be ready to go again. We learned a lot these few years that we made the Stanley Cup Playoffs. We played against good teams like Tampa and Washington. We learned the little things we need to do better."
COOL STAT
Whether it was the thrill of playing in enemy territory or perhaps just the quality of the pillows at the hotels, Barkov turned his game up to 11 when the Panthers were on the road this season.
Setting a new franchise record for points on the road in a single season, he produced 47 points (23 goals, 24 assists) in 36 games outside of Sunrise in 2021-22. Successfully silencing opposing team's buildings, four of his five game-winning goals this season also came while on the road.
Additionally, Barkov swiped a team-high 25 road takeaways.
BEST GAME
Is there any better way to cap off a hat trick?
With a pair of goals already in his back pocket heading into the extra frame, Barkov touched the twine a third time just 20 seconds into overtime to help the Panthers push their winning streak to 11 games with a 3-2 win over the Islanders at UBS Arena on April 19.
The goal was also his fifth game-winning tally of the season.
"It's not really a skill," Barkov said of his knack for coming up in the clutch. "There's just the compete-level of our team. Everyone wants to come back, everyone wants to be the guy who scores the goal or doesn't let the opposite team score a goal in crucial moments in the game."
In addition to his hat-centric heroics, Barkov also put forth a dominant effort in the faceoff circle against the Islanders, winning 15 of his 17 draws for an outstanding 88.2% winning percentage.
"We want to win every game, and we want to win the next game," Barkov said afterward.
GOAL OF THE YEAR
This was a primetime score fit for a national broadcast.
Showcasing is stellar puck skills, Barkov turned the head of every fan watching at home on TNT when he pulled the rubber behind his back to cruise right around a would-be defender before beating the goalie off his backhand to get the Cats on the board at Carolina on Feb. 19.
As far as windmill dekes go, this one could grind a lot of grain.
STAY IN TOUCH
Want to see how Barkov spends his time during the offseason?
Make sure to give him a follow at
@barkovsasha
on Instagram!