2022-23 Season Rewind: Aleksander Barkov

Aleksander Barkov can't help but crack a smile when thinking about the future.

After captaining the Panthers to their second-ever trip to the Stanley Cup Final, the superstar center knows that even brighter days are ahead for the franchise in South Florida.

"You're going to realize what actually happened and how far we got and how close we were to the ultimate goal that we have in this organization," Barkov said on the team's exit day in June. "The good feeling is that usually when the season ends or in the playoffs you finish, you feel it's over and it's time to rest. But this was a little different feeling. We can build on this. The first feeling [this time] was that it's not over. We can only get better and learn from this."

Taking the ice for his 10th season with the Panthers -- the first of his eight-year extension -- Barkov was his usual exceptional self in 2022-23. Despite being limited to 68 games due to injuries and illness, the 27-year-old still managed to rack up 78 points (23 goals, 55 assists).

Finishing eighth in voting for the Selke Trophy -- an award he previously capture in 2020-21 -- Barkov led the Panthers in takeaways (56), faceoff win percentage (54.9%) and faceoff wins (731), while also ranking third among the team's forwards in shorthanded minutes (143:11).

A monster in the possession game, Barkov, who typically goes up against the best players on opposing teams every time he touches the ice, also helped the Panthers control 56.88% of shot attempts, 56.49% of scoring chances and 56.99% of goals when he was deployed at 5-on-5, according to NaturalStatTrick.com.

"The way Sasha works, off the ice, he works extremely hard," defenseman Brandon Montour told The Athletic. "Everyone sees it. One of the hardest workers that I've seen since I've played. And obviously shows it on the ice. When you've got your captain making big plays and being out there for big-time minutes, that pushes everyone else to play up to his level as close as you can."

While you could argue that Barkov's best stretch of the season came during his career-long, 11-game point streak from Jan. 10-28, his 10-game point streak from March 4-25 -- a stellar run in which he compiled 16 points (four goals, 12 assists) -- was full of big moments and milestones.

Kicking off that 10-game streak with two assists against the Penguins on March 4, Barkov set a new franchise record with the 158th multi-point game of his career. With an assist in Detroit on March 20, he broke Jonathan Huberdeau's franchise scoring record of 614 points.

"It's a huge honor," Barkov said when asked about becoming the new points king for the Panthers. "After my career I'm going to realize even more what that means, but right now everything happens so fast. We won the game, we're in a playoff race, so you don't think about that too much. But obviously it's a huge honor to play for this organization. I'm really happy."

That happiness only increased during the playoffs.

Finally going on the deep run that he'd always envisioned, Barkov registered 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) in 21 playoff games while helping the Panthers win the Eastern Conference.

Of those points, 13 came at even strength.

"This postseason was something amazing," said Barkov, who ranks first in franchise history with 37 career playoff points. "We just clicked together really well. We all just grinded it out. The fans were amazing, helping us out every single night. The buzz around the team was excellent."

After getting a taste of the spotlight this past season, Barkov and the rest of his teammates are ready to try and take another big step forward on the ice during the upcoming 2023-24 season.

"It's an exciting time to be here, for sure," Barkov said.

COOL STAT

Barkov was a fiend in the faceoff circle this past season.

Despite missing 13 games, he still led the Panthers with 731 faceoffs wins. Making that number even more impressive is the fact that the second-ranked player on the team had 306 fewer wins.

Overall, his 54.9% success rate in the dot matched the second-best mark of his career.

With many of his faceoff wins directly leading to goals, Barkov was particularly effective while taking important draws in the offensive zone. Of the 483 faceoffs that he took in the offensive zone, he won 290 of them. Crunching the numbers, that equates to a 60% winning percentage.

In the playoffs, he led all NHL skaters with 225 faceoff wins.

BEST GAME

Barkov made some hat-centric history in this matchup.

Becoming just the sixth player in franchise history to score three goals in a single period, he recorded his fourth-career hat trick -- and added two assists for good measure -- to lead Florida to a convincing 7-2 win over the Canadiens at FLA Live Arena on Dec. 29.

The fastest hat trick ever to start a game in franchise history, all three of his goals came within the first 15:22 of the first period, besting Steve Reinprecht's previous team-high mark of 15:49.

"He just changes all parts of your game," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said when asked about Barkov's five-point performance. "Take the five points aside, he's still going to take the faceoffs on the power play and faceoffs on the penalty kill that are critical. He keeps the minutes down for everybody so there's more energy off the bench. He's such a dynamic man."

On his second goal of the game, Barkov also surpassed Scott "Mr. Rat Trick" Mellanby for the most power-play goals in franchise history with his 67th career tally on the man advantage.

"I was drafted by this organization and have been here since Day 1," said Barkov, who was taken by Florida with the second-overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft. "It's great to still be here. This is the place I want to be. It means a lot to me be on any record list or anything. I'm really honored."

In addition to his staggering surface-level numbers, Barkov's underlying metrics were also off the charts in the win. When he was on the ice at 5-on-5, the Panthers controlled 71.43% of shot attempts, 88.89% of scoring chances and 83.66% of expected goals, per NaturalStatTrick.com.

GOAL OF THE YEAR

This goal was so nice that even "The Great One" couldn't believe it.

Shining bright on the big stage, Barkov sent jaws around the world dropping to the floor when he got Hurricanes goalie Antti Raanta to bite on a between-the-legs fake before roofing a shot into the cage off his backhand to make it 1-1 in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final on May 18.

"One of the greatest moves I've seen," Wayne Gretzky said afterward on the TNT broadcast.

When told about that high praise from No. 99, Barkov couldn't help but blush a bit.

"It means a lot coming from him," he said. "It's nice to hear, for sure."