Matthew Tkachuk made the Florida Panthers a contender in Year 1 — and maybe a destination
Matthew Tkachuk has still been a Florida Panther for less than a year and still he’s already something like an unofficial member of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau.
At the 2023 NHL All-Star Game in February, he became a combination of a tour guide and ambassador, as stars from across the league descended upon Sunrise and Broward County. In an appearance on TNT’s “NBA Tip-Off” ahead of a Heat game last month in Miami, he donned an Elbo Room T-shirt as a shout-out to one of his favorite Fort Lauderdale bars. He likes to brag about his new home — he even did it when the Panthers were way outside postseason position in the first half of last year — and tries to show it off whenever friends from other teams come into town.
“He loves living in South Florida. It’s all real,” general manager Bill Zito said. “He’s a wonderful ambassador of the game, of the Panthers and we’re fortunate to have him. ... There’s times you want to tell him, settle down. He’s selling to some guy. I don’t want to sell to that guy.”
After Florida got to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1996 and fell just three wins short of its first championship, the Panthers go into this offseason trying to take the final step and they hope — with the help of Tkachuk, the promise of on-ice success and some off-the-ice appeals — they have become a destination franchise.
With about $10 million in cap space to operate with and virtually every player of significance under contract through next season, Florida will have a chance this summer to take another big swing for a Stanley Cup.
Even before Tkachuk arrived last offseason, the Panthers had a clear appeal.
After all, Tkachuk’s top choice for a trade after he told the Flames he wasn’t going to sign an extension was Florida. The Panthers, who won the Presidents’ Trophy during the 2021-22 NHL season and already had All-Star center Aleksander Barkov as a foundational mid-20s building block, were on the rise and Tkachuk saw an opportunity to play for a Cup contender in an appealing market.
The 25-year-old American was born in Arizona and grew up in Missouri, so he wasn’t married to playing in a northern city, where hockey is king. He bought into the appeal of playing in warm weather and living near the beach — he joked center Sam Bennett sold him when he took Tkachuk out to dinner during the 2021-22 season when Calgary made a trip to Florida — and the lack of a state income tax, to go along with all the organization’s appeals.
He saw the Panthers’ potential and leaned it all of it.
“I definitely want to see it grow and I know the best way to make it grow is being in the community helping out,” Tkachuk said last month, “or having a winning team, and a great team for years and years to come.”
Now, he’s also part of the sales pitch.
Tkachuk is a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy, given out annually to the most valuable player in the NHL, and followed up a 109-point regular season with 21 more in the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs. He also played through a fractured sternum for most of Game 3 and all of Game 4 of the 2023 Stanley Cup Final, and even scored a game-tying goal in the last three minutes of Game 3 to force overtime and set up Florida’s lone win of the championship series.
The Panthers expect their superstar right wing to be ready for the start of next season.
“We live in an age of superlatives, right? It’s hard to put a label on what he accomplished and the way he accomplished it in the playoffs,” Zito said. “At the same time, knowing him and interacting with him daily, he didn’t do anything different. He’s just a hockey player. That’s what he does. He loves it. He loves the game, loves playing and loves his teammates. That’s just an extension of what he is. What he tried to do at the end was so courageous. Just when you think he can’t earn more respect, he does it.”
Florida has flexibility and an obvious appeal.
As for whether it’s now a place where players might take a discount to come chase a ring, “we’re about to find out,” Zito said.
“There are players for whom the opportunity that we will have this year is literally invaluable,” the GM said. “You want to come and play for us? Here’s the hole, here’s our need, someone’s playing there. There’s a pretty good bet that whoever plays in that spot is going to have success almost by default. ... If you’re playing, you’re going to be playing with good players.
“Some players might be making a short-term financial sacrifice to fit in, but there’s also a significant opportunity by coming and being a part of this.”
