Panthers’ ‘cornerstone’ gets All-Star nod: Barkov ready to be hometown favorite in Florida

Aleksander Barkov will be taking part in the 2023 NHL All-Star Game, after all — not like the Florida Panthers’ star center was planning to be anywhere other than his adopted hometown next week when the NHL All-Star Game returns to Sunrise for the first time since 2003.

“Maybe a couple times I’m going to miss the beach, but I wasn’t going anywhere,” the newly minted All-Star forward said, with his usual wry smile. “This place is like vacation and work for me at the same time.”

Barkov officially joined the Atlantic Division’s roster Friday, as an injury replacement for Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews, and he found out about the honor Thursday when general manager Bill Zito called to break the news.

Barkov’s initial reaction, he said, was muted, but that’s just because that’s who Barkov, 27, is. The Finnish forward is excited to show off his home to stars from across the NHL and give the fans another hometown favorite to watch Feb. 4 at FLA Live Arena.

All-Star right wing Matthew Tkachuk, 25, will also play for the Atlantic, chosen for the game by the league’s department of hockey operations Jan. 5 when one player from each team was picked for the game. Barkov was passed over during the fan-voting stage of the selection process, but now gets in with Matthews sidelined — a logical choice given Barkov’s stature as captain of the host team.

“I always think it’s important for our best players to have an opportunity to do that in front of our home crowd,” coach Paul Maurice said. “The cornerstone will be represented.”

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It’s also, surprisingly, a somewhat fresh experience for Barkov. Despite all Barkov’s accomplishments in his first 10 years in the NHL, this will only be his second time playing in an All-Star Game and his first since 2018.

In the time since he last played in an All-Star Game, Barkov has won a Frank J. Selke Trophy and finished third in voting for another, twice finished in the top 12 of voting for the Hart Memorial Trophy and captained the Panthers to a Presidents’ Trophy.

Entering Friday, Barkov had 13 goals and 30 assists in 40 games, with 10 games missed due to injury and a bout with pneumonia the only things keeping him from seriously threatening to top the 88 points he netted last year on the way to the Presidents’ Trophy. He’s also ranks sixth among forwards in average time on ice at 21:23 per game, playing key roles on both the power play and penalty kill.

“Probably the thing that was said to me the most when I first go there is, You don’t realize how good Aleksander Barkov is,” Maurice said.

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When he went to Tampa for the 2018 NHL All-Star Game, Barkov was still a rising star, only 22 and still without a point-per-game season on his resume.

Fast forward five years and Barkov is regarded as one of the players in the league, regardless of how few All-Star appearances he has. He’s fully established now as a star and going to All-Star Games is what stars do.

Barkov thought back to one of the first days of training camp before this season, when everyone was out on the ice to skate around before practice began in Coral Springs. He paused for a moment to catch his breath and looked around at everyone else doing their laps at the Florida Panthers IceDen, and he realized something.

“I’m like the second oldest guy on the ice, so that really hit me,” he said. “I’ve been in the league for 10 years, but I still feel like I’m young.”