Does focusing on Aleksander Barkov’s elite two-way play undersell Panthers captain’s offense?

The Florida Panthers know what they have in Aleksander Barkov — an elite, two-way forward who is one of the best at his position in the world. He owns basically every franchise record he can achieve and has been the lifeblood of this franchise for some time now. He’s a quiet captain, who plays a big game that is easy to fly under the radar. He is a two-time winner of the NHL’s Selke Trophy, given annually to the NHL’s top defensive forward.

And it brings up an interesting question: Does focusing on Barkov’s defense and two-way prowess detract from his skill offensively? After all, he does have 711 career points in the regular season (266 goals, 445 assists) and 52 career points in the postseason, including 15 (six goals, nine assists) this postseason.

Here’s what his teammates, coach and general manager have to say about him.

▪ Forward Kevin Stenlund: “For me, he’s elite on both ends. Saying he’s the best two-way player doesn’t take away from his offense. He does everything on the ice, which is just crucial for our team.”

▪ Forward Nick Cousins: “Just seeing him every day and seeing the amount of work he puts in, he leads by example. He’s not the loudest guy, but I think every day he comes in with the right mindset, right attitude. Everybody in that room looks up to him. He’s such a special player for us. He’s definitely upped his level in the playoffs and it’s been fun to watch.”

▪ Defenseman Brandon Montour: “He’s elite at everything he does. Every little play, he’s so hard on pucks defensively. He makes the right plays. But again, we see obviously more in practice and playing with him every day. Offense, defense, he’s phenomenal. Does everything right. He’s huge for us.”

▪ Forward Evan Rodrigues: “Definitely. One hundred percent. He may not be the flashiest in terms of dynamic speed or something like that, but his skill level, his smarts, his puck work in the corners, winning one-on-one battles. You saw earlier in the year at MSG an all-world play, batting pucks out of the air. He just does everything right. You don’t see that wow factor out of him, but he’s such a smart player. He’s elite.”

▪ Coach Paul Maurice: “It’s funny because I thought the same thing last year about Patrice Bergeron and he’s got five [Selke Trophies], so Barky’s still got some time, but we rarely talked about the fact that [Bergeon] had over 1,000 points. He was an incredible offensive player. It’s interesting because we rarely do that; we almost always kind of spotlight the offense of a player because when you’re a really good defensive player, that’s usually it. He’s a grinder, a little bit old school. Sasha’s not that. The high end of his game may actually be offensively, but he won the Selke because he doesn’t cheat. He does what’s right every time he touches the puck.”

▪ General manager Bill Zito: “Sasha is the friend that you have that nobody believes is what he is as a human. There aren’t superlatives to describe him because they’re accurate and they’re candid and they’re real. If you do have the occasion to get to know him, he talks quite a bit. You just have to let Sasha be Sasha — not what you want him to be, not what he needs to be, not what he should be. Just let him be who he is.”