When it comes to captain Aleksander Barkov, the thoughts of his next contract extension may seem like a distant issue that isn’t a huge priority at the moment. With the shape of the NHL changing, however, this may need to be an issue to worry about.
Barkov’s contract is still one of the better contracts in hockey. Signed back in January 2016, the Finn is locked into a $5.9 million cap hit until the end of the 2021-22 season.
Now, the Florida Panthers have done really well to juggle their cap space with their young core with Dale Tallon as GM.