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Florida Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk battled injuries in the 2024-25 NHL season but still won a second Stanley Cup with the team. Now that it's offseason, Tkachuk has time to address any lingering injury, and according to Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet, the 27-year-old, that could include going under the knife for a “corrective surgery.”
“There's a possibility that Tkachuk’s long-suffering injury may need corrective surgery which could keep him out through the Christmas break,” wrote Kypreos, who talked about the star forward's status being a factor in how the team will deal with a payroll that currently exceeds the salary cap.
Added Kypreos: “It doesn’t appear that Tkachuk’s Olympic participation in February is in jeopardy at this point in time, however.”
Kypreos also mentioned that the Panthers could put the 27-year-old Tkachuk in the long-term injured reserve (LTIR), if the forward would still be out when the start of the 2025-26 NHL regular season rolls around.
“If Tkachuk were to miss the beginning of the season and be out for a while, the Panthers would be able to get under the cap by putting his contract on LTIR.”
It can be recalled that Tkachuk missed time last season after suffering a groin injury while playing for the United States in the 4 Nations Face-Off. His status in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoff was also put in jeopardy because of the injury. In addition to the groin injury, he revealed following the 2025 Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers that he played through the series with a torn adductor muscle and a sports hernia.
“I wouldn’t be here without the trainers and the doctors and those people, and that’s what makes this Cup more special for me is how hard it was just to be out there and to get to the point of playing,” Tkachuk shared after the Oilers series (h/t Tom Gulitti of NHL.com). “I owe those guys. This Cup is because of them for me, and I’m so lucky.”
Despite being banged-up, Tkachuk managed to contribute three goals and four assists for seven points in six games in the NHL finals, as the Panthers successfully defended the crown against the same opponent they defeated in 2024.
