Star forward Matthew Tkachuk won’t be on the ice when the Florida Panthers begin their quest for a third straight Stanley Cup this fall. The team’s leading playoff scorer is set to miss the start of the 2025 season after undergoing surgery earlier this month.
It’s a tough break for both Tkachuk and the defending champs. The 27-year-old had been wrestling with the decision all summer, calling it a “50-50” chance he’d need the procedure.
The surgery stems from injuries he picked up while playing for Team USA back in February’s 4 Nations Face-Off – a torn adductor muscle and sports hernia that forced him to sit out the final 25 games of the regular season.
But here’s the amazing part: Tkachuk fought through the pain in the playoffs and absolutely lit it up.
He tied for the team lead with 23 postseason points, including three goals and four assists in the Stanley Cup Final alone. That’s after putting up 57 points in just 52 regular-season games.
“If I do have the surgery, we’re probably looking at two to three months out,” Tkachuk said before making his decision.
Since joining Florida in a blockbuster trade from Calgary in 2022, Tkachuk has been worth every penny of his $76 million contract. He’s led the Panthers to the Stanley Cup Final in all three seasons, making the All-Star team and winning MVP honors at the 2023 All-Star Game.
The Panthers will start their historic championship chase on October 7 against the Chicago Blackhawks. If they can somehow pull off a third straight Cup victory – even with Tkachuk missing the early months – they’d be the first team to three-peat since the legendary New York Islanders teams of the early 1980s.
That’s quite a challenge ahead for Florida, especially without their $9.5 million-a-year star to start the season. But if last year’s playoff run showed anything, it’s that you can never count out Tkachuk and the Panthers.
