Sasha Barkov, ‘Face Of the Florida Panthers,’ Ties Team Scoring Record

SUNRISE — When Jonathan Huberdeau was traded to the Calgary Flames in July, it was just a matter of time before Sasha Barkov joined him as the leading scorer in Florida Panthers history.

The only question, of course, was when.

We now have the answer: 54 games.

On Saturday night, Barkov — whom Radko Gudas aptly described as the “face of the franchise for a reason. He is the best player every time he steps onto the ice” — joined Huberdeau atop the Florida all-time scoring leaderboard.

Barkov had another two-point game in a 4-2 comeback win over the New Jersey Devils with his third-period goal kicking it all off.

Barkov will likely take the scoring record for his own either Monday in Detroit or Tuesday in Philadelphia.

Huberdeau and Barkov both have 613 points with the Panthers. Huberdeau, obviously, will not add any more to his total here.

At least not anytime soon.

When Barkov takes the record as his own, it will probably be his forever.

Barkov, the second-overall pick of the 2013 NHL Draft, is currently in the first year of the franchise-record eight-year, $80-million extension he signed in 2022.

”It sounds funny to say that about all the records, but he is signed to play here, pretty much, for the rest of his career,” Aaron Ekblad said.

“Any time a player plays for one team their entire career, it is pretty damn cool. It is a really cool thing and he is so respected in these hallways here. He sort of transcends everyone. Such a good person, such a hard worker and is so deserving of all of this.”