Dmitry Kulikov had hip surgery and is out five months for the Florida Panthers, coach Paul Maurice announced Wednesday.
The defenseman, who turns 35 on Oct. 29, sustained the injury in Florida’s second game of the season on Oct. 9, a 2-1 win against the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Panthers are also without center Aleksander Barkov (knee) for 7-9 months and forward Matthew Tkachuk (torn adductor muscle) until at least December. Fourth-line center Tomas Nosek is also out because of what general manager Bill Zito called a “long-term injury.”
Kulikov will be replaced by Uvis Balinskis against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, TNT, TVAS). Defenseman Tobias Bjornfot was recalled from Charlotte of the American Hockey League on Sunday.
“Dmitry is like some of the other players that we have out of the lineup; he is unique in his role,” Maurice said. “Excellent penalty killer. Physical player in the five, six [spot on defense], but he can skate and close gaps. So, that’s the hole.
“Uvis played, I believe, 74 games for us last year (76), so we’ll put in a veteran player who’s played here. So again, it’s the same concept. You don’t replace these guys that you have out of the lineup. The weight doesn’t get heavier. You just have fewer guys to lift, right? So, everybody shares it.
“We have full expectation of Uvis playing the game that he’s capable of playing. He doesn’t get any room not to. But that’s a positive for us. We think we’re putting a guy in who’s very capable.”
Kulikov has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 70 regular-season games and five points (two goals, three assists) in 23 Stanley Cup Playoff games last season, helping the Panthers win their second straight championship.
Selected by Florida in the first round (No. 14) of the 2009 NHL Draft, Kulikov has 247 points (50 goals, 197 assists) in 1,020 regular-season games with the Panthers, Buffalo Sabres, Winnipeg Jets, New Jersey Devils, Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild, Anaheim Ducks and Pittsburgh Penguins, and 15 points (three goals, 12 assists) in 76 playoff games.
NHL.com columnist Nicholas J. Cotsonika contributed to this report
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