Added to the Atlantic Division's roster on Friday after Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews was ruled out of the annual event due to a knee injury, Barkov will join teammate Matthew Tkachuk as local co-hosts for NHL All-Star Weekend in South Florida from Feb. 3-4.
Franchise cornerstones, both Tkachuk and Barkov signed with the Panthers through the 2029-30 season.
"Two really exciting players that'll be the face of this franchise for a very long time," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said of the dynamic duo. "They should be here to represent our team."
When asked if he had to make any adjustments to his schedule, Barkov said he'd only have to cut back on his beach time a little bit as he was already planning to stay home for the break.
"This is place is vacation and work for me at the same time," Barkov said.
Making his second appearance at the All-Star Game, Barkov, who made his debut at the event in 2018, has produced 43 points (13 goals, 30 assists) over 40 games with Florida in 2022-23, and also enters Friday's matchup with the Los Angeles Kings on a career-high, nine-game point streak.
"It's a good thing for the game for him to be there," Maurice said. "He'll still get three or four days of rest. I don't think anybody sweats too hard at the All-Star Game. I always think it's important for our best players to have an opportunity to do that in front of our home crowd."
Thinking back to his first All-Star Game, Barkov remembers just being a wide-eyed kid.
"It's an eye-opening thing," said Barkov, who was 22 at the time. "You see so many good players that you've looked up to throughout your career and played against. Then you get to spend time with them and talk to them -- not as rivals, but as teammates. I'm really looking forward to that."
Like Tkachuk, Barkov is also excited to show off everything South Florida has to offer.
"We'll show them how we do it here," Barkov said. "You go home, see some palm trees and there's good weather almost every day. Then you come to the rink
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