HIGHLIGHTS
- Matthew Tkachuk reportedly underwent offseason surgery
- Panthers winger missed final 25 regular-season games
- Read below for details on Tkachuk’s injury and timeline
The Florida Panthers will be without one of their leaders for the first half of the 2025-26 NHL season.
The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reported on Friday afternoon that Matthew Tkachuk underwent surgery a few weeks ago and will miss the start of the season. While the timeline for Tkachuk to return is unclear, he wrote, the winger could be out of action until at least January.
This report comes just two weeks after Tkachuk told ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski that he was undecided about going under the knife.
“If I do get the surgery, it’ll definitely be the first two or maybe three months if that’s the case,” Tkachuk told ESPN. “But it’s still undecided at this point.”
It’s been a wild offseason for Tkachuk, who returned in the playoffs to help the Panthers win back-to-back Stanley Cups over the Edmonton Oilers. He revealed after the playoffs that he was playing with a torn abductor muscle and a sports hernia injury suffered at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.
Tkachuk didn’t play in the regular season after that, but he wasn’t going to let those injuries keep him out of the playoffs. And he didn’t let it impact his production.
In fact, after recording 22 points (6 goals, 16 assists) in 24 games in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Tkachuk had 23 points (8 goals, 15 assists) in 23 games this past year.
The Panthers kept the band together this offseason, re-signing Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad, and Brad Marchand. They’re currently $3.75 million over the cap, but putting Tkachuk’s $9.5 million cap hit on long-term injured reserve (LTIR) should solve that issue — at least temporarily.
Florida has shown a willingness to play it safe with its players’ injuries during the season. The Cats rested some players down the stretch last season, which caused them to lose home-ice advantage in the playoffs. But that decision paid off as the Panthers clawed their way to another Stanley Cup.
We’ll see what happens this time around as the Panthers go for a three-peat, but all we know for now is that Tkachuk will miss the start of the season for Florida.
