Season Rewind: Aleksander Barkov

SUNRISE, Fla. - The Florida Panthers have found their superstar.
In a season in which he was limited to just 61 games due to injury, Aleksander Barkov, Florida's top-line center, still managed to finish second on the team in points (52), third in goals (21) and power-play points (14) and second in game-winning goals (5).

"I know the area, the team and the league," Barkov said just before putting the finishing touches on his fourth season in the NHL. "It's a lot easier to be here, but the game is getting harder, so you have to just do everything faster. Every game I'm gaining experience and confidence."
At just 21 years old, Barkov stood out as one of the NHL's top offensive players during the 2016-17 season, ranking 25th in the league in points per game (.85), besting the likes of Washington's Alex Ovechkin (.84), Montreal's Max Pacioretty (.83) and Chicago's Jonathan Toews (.81).
"The kid has been one of our best players since he's gotten here," Panthers center Vincent Trocheck said of Barkov, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft. "Even earlier in the year when he wasn't scoring every game, he was playing great defensively. No matter what, he contributes to the team and he contributes on the ice."
On defense, Barkov certainly does look to have all the makings of a future Selke Trophy winner. In addition to averaging 1:16 a game on Florida's second-ranked penalty killing unit, the Tampere, Finland native was also tops among all Panther forwards in terms of suppressing shots this past season, allowing 29.02 shots per 60 minutes at even strength, according to HockeyAnalysis.com.
"He's really smart and always in the right place," former Panthers enforcer Shawn Thornton said of Barkov, who finished 17th in Selke voting this past season. "People say the puck just goes back to him, but he's always where the puck is going to be, not where it's coming from. He's so skilled and so talented."
No longer one of the league's best-kept secrets, Barkov's name is now being mentioned among many of the NHL's best goal scorers on the national level. In a
recent article from TSN
, Travis Yost took a closer look at the best goal scorers in the league using a metric known as "goals above expected," which factors in both the quality and volume of shots taken.
So how did Barkov fare?
Well, according to Yost, Barkov actually ranks sixth in the league over the past three seasons with 15.18 goals above expected, putting him ahead of established stars such as Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin (13.85) and Boston's Brad Marchand (12.29).
"When those teams are working the cycle and those guys are on the ice, there really aren't many good answers," Yost writes of the players on his list. "You just have to hope and pray your goalie is ready."

COOL STAT

In the shootout, Barkov has a habit of making opposing goaltenders look foolish.
With highlight reel goal after highlight reel goal, Barkov lit the lamp a league-high seven times on 10 shootout attempts in 2016-17, including three game-deciding goals.
"I think I have a lot of moves," Barkov said of his shootout prowess. "I like to shoot sometimes, but I like to deke, too. I try to learn a lot from different players like Patrick Kane and Pavel Datsyuk, the guys that can score nice goals and try to undress goalies and stuff like that. I try to practice that and do it in the game if I'm feeling confident."
What does a confident Barkov look like? Check out the shootout goal below.

BEST GAME

Barkov matched his season high with three points (2-1-3) in Florida's 6-5 overtime victory over the San Jose Sharks at the SAP Center on Feb. 15.
After finding the back of the net in the the first and third periods, Barkov's game-defining moment came 1:38 into overtime, when after corralling the puck behind San Jose's net, he set up Jonathan Huberdeau with a no-look pass for the game-winning goal.

GOAL OF THE YEAR

You can't stop Barkov; you can only hope to contain him.
(Spoiler alert: containment failed)
With four Kings defenders to beat, Barkov skates up the right side of the ice with speed, fends off a would-be hooking penalty and backhands the puck past Peter Budaj to give the Panthers a 3-2 lead 15 seconds into the third period on Feb. 19 in Los Angeles.