Florida Panthers’ Paul Maurice on Matthew Tkachuk: ‘He’s playing for us this year’

Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice on Monday provided an update on star winger Matthew Tkachuk, who sustained a lower-body injury in the 4 Nations Face-Off, and the outcome appears to avoid the worst-case scenario.

While the exact timeline for Tkachuk won’t be determined until he goes through his final round of tests, Maurice did make one thing clear.

“He’s playing for us this year,” Maurice said Monday morning on the Joe Rose Show.

Maurice doubled down on that notion following the team’s practice before flying out for their road game against the Nashville Predators on Tuesday (8 p.m., Scripps).

“We’ve got a pretty good idea where it’s at,” Maurice said. “We just need to make sure that everybody looks at the pictures the same way. I don’t have that concern [that it’s season ending]. ... We’re vague on all these before we get the report because there’s always a chance of everything, right? There always could be something unusual in one of these. But I don’t think it is. I’m not worried about it.”

Tkachuk has been dealing with his injury, believed to be a groin injury, since the first USA-Canada meeting on Feb. 15 — his second game of the tournament. He didn’t play the final 12:36 of that game, a 3-1 United States win that secured their spot in the championship game. With the USA already locked into the title game, Tkachuk then sat out the round-robin finale against Sweden on Feb. 17 entirely.

In the championship game on Thursday, which Canada won 3-2 in overtime, Tkachuk played just 6:47 and finished his final shift with 3:22 left in the second period.

Maurice had said previously that Tkachuk, who returned to South Florida on Friday, would be fully evaluated on Sunday and Monday to determine the severity of the injury and the next steps he would need to take. He did not play Saturday in Florida’s 2-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken in the Panthers’ first game back following the tournament and is not traveling with the team to Nashville.

Tkachuk is second on the Panthers in goals (22), assists (35) and points (57) while leading the team with 11 power-play goals and 23 power-play points over 52 games. He is a staple in Florida’s top-six, primarily serving as a winger on the Panthers’ second line with center Sam Bennett.

He entered the 4 Nations Face-Off having scored goals in six consecutive Panthers games and with 16 total points over the Panthers’ final eight games before the break.

“It’s a heavy, full-contact, hard sport,” Maurice said. “So, when you play that, guys get hurt. You don’t want it to be your guys — you don’t want it to be any guys — but injuries are a part of our game.”

Luostarinen out Tuesday

In addition to being without Tkachuk, the Panthers will play without forward Eetu Luostarinen on Tuesday in Nashville. Luostarinen’s wife is due to give birth to their first child, so he is staying back in Florida.

Maurice said the team will add a forward to the roster prior to Tuesday’s game.

Luostarinen, who has primarily played on the left wing of Florida’s third line, has 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists) in 58 games this season and is one of the Panthers’ primary forwards on their penalty kill.

This story was originally published February 24, 2025 at 9:30 AM.

Jordan McPherson

Miami Herald

305-376-2129

Jordan McPherson covers the Miami Hurricanes and Florida Panthers for the Miami Herald. He attended the University of Florida and covered the Gators athletic program for five years before joining the Herald staff in December 2017.