Panthers’ Injury Woes Worsen After Player Goes Down In Freak Barbecuing Mishap

It's not unusual for teams that have made a few deep playoff runs in a row to start having some injury issues. The Florida Panthers are no exception.

After a loss in the Stanley Cup Final to the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023, and back-to-back wins in 2024 and 2025, the Panthers haven't just been bitten by the injury bug; they're getting eaten alive by it.

Captain Aleksander Barkov is out for the season.

Star forward Matthew Tkachuk has yet to play a game, and the same goes for Tomas Nosek.

Meanwhile, defenseman Dmitry Kulikov and winger Jonah Gadjovich have months left in their respective recoveries.

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But none of them had injuries as unusual as the one that has befallen center Eetu Luostarinen.

He's been sidelined by something unusual enough to sound like it could've killed a Spinal Tap drummer: a "barbecuing mishap," as head coach Paul Maurice revealed.

Man, hockey and barbecuing are two of my favorite things on this space rock we call Earth.

I never wanted to see them come together like this.

Get well soon, Eetu.

The Panthers’ injury crisis deepens as Eetu Luostarinen joins a growing list of sidelined stars after a bizarre barbecue accident.(Photo by Chris Arjoon/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Maurice didn't get into specifics about the nature of the injury — it's been reported to have been a burn — but people forget that barbecuing is nothing but a gauntlet of fire, metal tools, smoke fumes, and giant cuts of meat.

Even tossing some wood on the fire is treacherous. I think I still have a small splinter of post oak from the last time I smoked a pork butt.

The fact that any of us who barbecue semi-regularly have emerged unscathed is nothing short of miraculous.

Given the unusual nature of the injury, Maurice was unable to give a timeline for the forward's return.

"We don’t have a lot of experience with this," he said, per the Associated Press. "When he comes back and feels comfortable with the equipment on him, away we go."

The Panthers are currently sixth in the Atlantic Division, so the last thing they need is more key players going down with injury. 

However, this is a resilient bunch, so if they can weather this storm, maybe another lengthy playoff run could be in the cards.