Aleksander Barkov Makes History With Florida Panthers

In Tuesday night's game against the New Jersey Devils, Aleksander Barkov scored his 189th career goal. This is very significant because he now has officially passed Olli Jokinen for the franchise record.

Meet your new all-time franchise leader in goals…

Aleksander Barkov 👏#FLAvsNJD | @ukginc pic.twitter.com/3SiZooXbKg
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) November 10, 2021

You're watching franchise history being made.

Proud to call you a Panther, @barkovsasha95 🙌 pic.twitter.com/7cL7Z6XUFh
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) November 10, 2021

From here, Barkov is going to crush Jokinen's previous record. He just signed an eight-year extension with the Panthers and it doesn't even begin until the 2021-22 campaign. Thus, he should be able to double his current record by the time his contract is up, at a minimum.

Something that is also interesting is that Jonathan Huberdeau is not too far behind. At this juncture, he has 171 career goals, so he should be able to pass Jokinen by season's end, too.

With all of this, it's rather clear that the Panthers made a home run of a pick when they took Barkov second overall in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. In 541 career games so far with them, he has 189 goals, 290 assists and 479 points. With that, he also has blossomed into one of the best defensive forwards in the game, as evidenced by his Selke Trophy win last season.

Nonetheless, congrats Aleksander for making history! At just 26 years old, you are already among the best players to ever wear a Panthers uniform.