Panthers: Aleksander Barkov breaks franchise goal record

Aleksander Barkov scored his eighth goal of the 2021-22 regular season last night against the New Jersey Devils. Eight goals in 12 games is certainly impressive, but this specific one carried a plethora of weight for another reason. With it, Barkov is now the all-time leader in goals for the Florida Panthers with 189. He has officially passed former captain and fan favorite Olli Jokinen.

What is so impressive about this is the fact that Barkov is only in the beginning stages of his ninth NHL season. As a result of this, the 26-year-old has so much time to increase his record from here. In early October, he signed an eight-year, $80 million contract extension with the Panthers. It doesn’t…