Aleksander Barkov signed an eight-year contract extension with the Florida Panthers on Friday. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The 26-year-old center is in the final season of a six-year contract he signed Jan. 26, 2016, and could have become an unrestricted free agent after the season.
“I’m really happy to stay here a long time,” Barkov said. “Now the work starts again.
“I’m really happy that we got it out of the way. Coming into this season, seeing what’s happening here, I was just really happy to be back with the team. I had great people handling this whole thing for me, so I didn’t have to worry about it as much.”
Barkov led the Panthers with 26 goals in 50 games last season, and was second with 58 points, behind Jonathan Huberdeau (61). He scored seven points (one goal, six assists) in seven Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Barkov, who is entering his fourth season as Panthers captain, was voted the winner of the Selke Trophy as the top defensive forward in the NHL last season, and was voted the winner of the Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct in 2018-19.
“He’s the cornerstone we build around, 100 percent, from a culture perspective, from a leadership perspective,” general manager Bill Zito said. “I think you’re going to find in short order [if] you talk to the teammates, you’ll see it resonate both in the words they use and the tone and the manner in which they use [them] how appreciated ‘Sasha’ is as a teammate and a leader and as an example with his attention to detail.”
Selected by Florida with the No. 2 pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, Barkov has scored 465 points (181 goals, 284 assists) in 529 regular-season games and 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in 16 playoff games.
He ranks second in goals, assists and points in Panthers history, trailing Olli Jokinen in goals (188), and Huberdeau in assists (330) and points (498).
“I want to be here for a long time,” Barkov said. “Being in an organization that drafted me, that gave me a chance to play here and develop me in the player I am right now … the human being I am right now, and to be able to stay here for as long as possible, is a huge deal for me. I really love every second here, play my whole career, never thought about anything else than being here, playing here, trying to win a Stanley Cup here.”
Barkov, who was one of the first three players named to the Finland men’s hockey roster for the 2022 Beijing Olympics on Thursday, helped them win the bronze medal at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
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