The Florida Panthers are looking to win their third-straight Eastern Conference title this year. Their trade for Matthew Tkachuk has ignited this run and given them a bona fide superstar. Tkachuk ascended into the general sports lexicon during the 4 Nations Face-Off despite missing much of the tournament with an injury. As the Panthers get back to action, head coach Paul Maurice has an update on Tkachuk's injury.

“On the Joe Rose Show this morning, FLA coach Paul Maurice said Matthew Tkachuk’s injury (believed to be a groin) could be a bit longer term, ‘But he’s playing for us this year,' Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported.

The Joe Rose Show is a Miami-based AM sports-talk radio show and they asked the coach about the Tkachuk. While it is disappointing for Tkachuk to not be around for a while, he seemingly will get a chance in the playoffs. In 2023, he played through a broken sternum trying to will the Panthers to a Stanley Cup. And he underwent serious treatments during the 2024 playoffs, as documented in the Prime Video docuseries.

The Panthers have a 98.9% chance of making the playoffs, according to MoneyPuck. While it would be nice to have Tkachuk on the ice to secure a division title, as long as he is ready for the playoffs, they will be fine.

The Panthers need a healthy Matthew Tkachuk to win the Stanley Cup

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The trade for Matthew Tkachuk is one of the biggest player-for-player trades in recent NHL memory. After a dominant season with the Calgary Flames, he asked for a trade due to failing contract negotiations. The Panthers sent Jonathan Huberdeau, who had just posted 85 assists, and young defenseman Mackenzie Weegar to Calgary. That deal has proven to work out for Florida with two Cup Final appearances.

Tkachuk has not put up the offensive numbers in the past two seasons that he did in his last year in Calgary and first year in Florida. After 104 points in Alberta and 109 points for the Panthers, he took a step down to 88 points and 26 goals last season. This year he was on a similar pace, with 22 goals and 57 points in 55 games.

But Tkachuk is far more valuable to the Panthers than his offensive totals. He provides a physical presence to the team that they did not have before the trade. American fans saw it firsthand in Saturday night's round-robin game against Canada. That is important for playoff success and it sounds like Florida will have that this spring.