HIGHLIGHTS
- Matthew Tkachuk skipped the Panthers’ game in Montreal on Tuesday to be with his wife Ellie for the birth of their first child, a son
- Paul Maurice joked he plans to retire and coach the Jr. Panthers pee-wee team once all the babies are old enough
- Read below for the full story and Maurice’s quotes on the Panthers’ baby boom this season
Matthew Tkachuk is going to be a dad.
The Florida Panthers announced Tuesday that Tkachuk did not travel to Montreal for their game against the Canadiens. He headed back to South Florida to be with his wife Ellie as they await the arrival of their first child, a son.
Head coach Paul Maurice addressed it with a grin Tuesday morning. “Real good news, a lot of babies this year,” he said.
He wasn’t kidding. Tkachuk is the latest Panther to become a first-time father, joining Sam Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe in a locker room that has seen a lot of bassinets go up this year. Bennett missed a game last month for the same reason. Uvis Balinskis is apparently next in line.
Maurice has made peace with it. Last year he joked that he planned to resign and coach the Jr. Panthers pee-wee Select Team once the kids get old enough. He repeated the bit on Tuesday, noting he’d wait until Bo Forsling’s baby is ready to play both sides.
Tkachuk and Sam Bennett both welcomed sons this spring, roughly nine months after the Panthers won the Stanley Cup in June 2025. The math writes itself.
The Panthers were eliminated from playoff contention last week, so there are no stakes for Florida in Montreal tonight. But Tkachuk had previously said he was looking forward to youth hockey more than his current job. Based on everything happening in that locker room right now, he might get his shot at coaching sooner than expected.
