A look at Barkov’s franchise record-tying 415 assists
Aleksander Barkov, humble as he is, tried to remain modest when asked a question he has already been asked so many times over the past few years.
The Florida Panthers’ captain and 11-year NHL veteran found himself atop of yet another spot in the franchise record on Friday. His three-assist night in the Panthers’ 4-3 win over the New York Rangers gave him 415 for his career — tied for the most in franchise history with Jonathan Huberdeau.
It marked the final big franchise milestone for Barkov to obtain. He already holds the Panthers’ career marks for games played (696), goals (254), points (669), power-play points (196), power-play goals (71) and game-winning goals (46).
“They’re all unreal,” Barkov said during an intermission interview with Bally Sports Florida’s Katie Engleson. “I got drafted by this team, by this organization. I’ve been fortunate that I get to spend my whole career here so far and hopefully my whole life. It means a lot but at the same time, it’s hard to think about those right now.”
And on Friday, like so many other times in his career, each of his assists came at pivotal times.
Barkov set up Evan Rodrigues’ wrist shot from down low late in the first period to put the Panthers up 1-0 and then got the
primary assists on both of Sam Reinhart’s goals in the second period to make the score 2-0 and then 3-2.
Barkov enters the Panthers’ game against the Montreal Canadiens with a team-leading 27 assists, tied for the ninth most among forwards. That puts him on pace for 67 for the season, which would be a career-high (his current is 61 in the 2018-19 season).
“He’s just been incredible all year,” said star winger Matthew Tkachuk, who is in his second season with the Panthers. “Barky really just from the start of camp, he just drives everything for us. Even last year, ever since I’ve been here, he’s just been the best player and the best leader I can learn
from. Can’t say enough great things about him, but he’s playing on a whole other level. It’s fun to watch him out there.”
How did Barkov get to his latest franchise-leading mark? Here’s a by-thenumbers look at Barkov’s assist prowess.
Over the course of 11 seasons with the Panthers, Barkov has assisted on goals for 51 different teammates.
Huberdeau was on the receiving end of the most of Barkov’s helpers over their nine seasons together in Florida. Barkov assisted on 67 Huberdeau goals.
Huberdeau is one of five players to get at least 25 assists from Barkov. The others are Evgenii Dadonov (41), Sam Reinhart
(35), Aaron Ekblad (31) and Carter Verhaeghe
(25).
“He’s unbelievable,” Verhaeghe said. “He’s our best player. He’s been here forever. He’s the captain of our team, our leader. I see it on a nightly basis. I was playing with him a lot the last couple years. He’s so easy to play with, so easy to read off. Now, I get a front-row seat watching him play. He’s one of the best players in the world.”
More than half of his assists — 242 of the 415 — have been primary assists, meaning he was the final pass before the goal was scored.
Barkov has recorded multiple assists in 91 of his 696 career games. That’s the 16th most in the NHL since the 2013-14 season, when Barkov made his NHL debut.
He has six multi-assist games already through 32 games played this season, including each of his past three outings.
Of Barkov’s 415 assists, 284 have come at even strength, 125 have come on the power play and six have been in shorthanded situations.