The Florida Panthers are going to be missing forward Matthew Tkachuk for a while, like until December. He had to have surgery for a sports hernia and a torn adductor muscle, so it’s going to take some time for him to get back on the ice. General manager Bill Zito mentioned that Tkachuk has to hit certain milestones in his recovery before they can figure out when he’ll be ready to play again. On top of that, Tomas Nosek also got hurt during the offseason, and there’s no clear timeline for when he’ll be able to return to the team.
Tkachuk sat out the last 25 games of the regular season but toughed it out during the playoffs to help the Panthers win their second Stanley Cup in a row. He had surgery in August to fix up his injuries. The good news is that the team’s training camp is starting soon, so at least they can start getting ready for the new season. With Tkachuk expected to be out until December, he should have plenty of time to recover and get back in shape to represent Team USA at the Olympics in February. It’s a big deal because the U.S. team is looking to win their first gold medal since way back in 1980 at the Lake Placid Games.
Tkachuk was a key player for the Panthers in the playoffs, racking up 23 points with eight goals and 15 assists in 23 games. He really stepped up in the Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers, scoring seven points to help his team win the championship in six games. The Panthers are set to kick off their regular season against the Chicago Blackhawks on October 7th, so they’ll need to figure out how to make up for Tkachuk and Nosek being out of the lineup. It’s going to be a tough start to the season without two key players, but hopefully, they can hold down the fort until everyone is back and healthy.
