They had just vanquished the Edmonton Oilers for the second year in a row to capture back-to-back Stanley Cups, and many fans were wondering if they had a chance to become the first team to three-peat since the New York Islanders won four straight from 1980-83.This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners.If you sign up or place a wager, FOX News may be compensated.
This content was created by a team that works independently from the FOX newsroom.Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) is handed the Stanley Cup from Gary Bettman, the NHL Commissioner, after winning game six of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers at Amerant Bank Arena.(Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)Then the injuries started to pile up, beginning right as the Cup celebration ended with star winger Matthew Tkachuk needing adductor surgery.OTTAWA SENATORS OWNER CLAIMS KEITH TKACHUK AND MATTHEW TKACHUK SWAYED BRADY'S TRADE REQUESTTkachuk would be out for the first half of the season, but his injury was only the tip of the iceberg.The Panthers famously lost captain Aleksander Barkov for the year thanks to a torn ACL, and other key contributors like sniper Sam Reinhart, defender Seth Jones, and two-way wizard Anton Lundell also missed multiple weeks in the season with a bevy of injuries.2026 was supposed to be the bounceback year for the Cats, as Barkov and the rest of his merry band of champions were thought to be fully healthy.Then, just two games into the season, the Panthers captain went down awkwardly in an eerily similar fashion to his ACL injury a little more than a year earlier, causing Florida fans to wince.Aleksander Barkov #16 of the Florida Panthers lies on the ice during a game against the San Jose Sharks on Oct.
1, 2026, at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif.(Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)Barkov was given a supremely positive diagnosis relative to what the news could have been — a 6-8 week recovery period — but before Panthers fans could even...