There are some players that just have a presence.

Aleksander Barkov is one of them.

“He plays very loud,” veteran forward Kyle Okposo said. “Whenever he’s on the ice you notice him, and your opponent notices him. He’s a really tough guy to play against. He sets such a good example of what to do out there, as well as how to act, how to treat people.”

Blessed with a seemingly bottomless bag of talent, Barkov stood out as one of the top players in the NHL once again during a spectacular 2023-24 campaign with the Panthers.

Hitting the 80-point mark for the third time in his impressive career, the 29-year-old racked up 80 points (23 goals, 57 assists) during the regular season.

Captaining the Panthers to their first-ever Stanley Cup, Barkov also finished tied for the team lead in scoring in the playoffs with 22 points (eight goals, 14 assists) in 24 games.

His most-productive run of the playoffs stretched from the first round into the second round when he compiled 11 points (five goals, six assists) over a five-game point streak.

“Every year I’m just trying to do my job and be as good as possible defensively, offensively,” said Barkov, the first Finn to captain a Cup champion. “Playing on a good team with good systems and great teammates, that helps a lot. It means a lot. It’s a great thing, for sure.”

Speaking of defense, that remains Barkov’s bread and butter.

Winning his second Selke Trophy as the top defensive forward in the NHL, Barkov led all Panthers with a +33 plus/minus rating and won a career-high 57.3% of his faceoffs. Despite missing nine games, he also led the team with 61 takeaways – his most since 2018-19.

Per NaturalStatTrick.com, Barkov’s 58.43 CF% at 5-on-5 was the second-best mark of his career, only slightly behind the 58.90 CF% from when he won the Selke Trophy in 2020-21. Additionally, his 69.74 GF% led all forwards in the NHL that skated at least 400 minutes.

At 5-on-5, the Panthers led 53-22 in goals when he was on the ice.

“He comes to the rink to help his team win,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “His decisions are always solid hockey on the right side of the puck. He’s capable of great things offensively, but he prioritizes winning over that.”

Already the longest-tenured captain in franchise history, Barkov remains at the center of Florida’s success.

“In a very good way, he’s the perfect man to be captain of the Florida Panthers,” Maurice said. “The thing I heard most when I came here was, ‘You have no idea how good Barkov is.’ I’ve got a TV. I’ve got a pretty good idea. It’s not my first game. But they were right. He’s better this year than he’s ever been.”

COOL STAT

Despite being tasked with shutting down opposing team’s lethal top lines each and every night, Barkov seemed to always find a way to come out on top in the possession battle.

Of the 73 games he appeared in during the regular season, he posted at least a 50% share of shot attempts at 5-on-5 on 57 occasions, according to NaturalStatTrick.com.

He also finished with a CF% above 60 in 35 games.

When Barkov was on the ice this past season, the Panthers usually had the puck.

BEST GAME

Helping the Panthers rebound from a loss in Game 1, Barkov led the charge in a dominant 6-1 beatdown of the Bruins in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Second Round on May 8.

Earning first-star honors, the captain logged four points in the win (two goals, two assists), which ended up standing as his most-productive offensive game during the run to the Cup.

“Overall, we did what we wanted to do,” Barkov said. “They got the lead in the first period, but we didn’t change a thing. We just wanted to keep playing our game and playing hard.”

Not just piling up points, Barkov also helped limit the Bruins to just nine shot attempts, four shots on goal and two scoring chances over the 12:01 of ice time he saw at 5-on-5.

He also went 8-for-11 (72.7%) in the faceoff circle.

PLAY OF THE YEAR

Instead of a goal, we’re going with an assist on this one.

It was just that good.

Putting on a show at the world’s most-famous arena, Barkov juggled the puck in the air with his stick in transition before setting up Sam Reinhart for a goal from the right doorstep with a cross-ice pass while falling to even the score at 1-1 at Madison Square Garden on March 4.

The Panthers eventually went on to beat the Rangers by a score of 4-2.

“This is like one of those places where you don’t need that extra motivation,” Barkov said when asked about his highlight-reel helper after the game. “You come here to New York and the most famous arena, it’s always fun to play here no matter what. This is it.”

Of course, Barkov’s incredible play also ended up on SportsCenter’s Top 10.

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