Panthers' Matthew Tkachuk To Miss A Chunk of Time This Season

It didn't stop him from hoisting the Stanley Cup over his head in June, but right after the celebrations, Florida Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk admitted he played through a couple of severe injuries in the playoffs, and now we're learning that he will miss "a chunk of time" at the start of the 2025-26 season. Insider Elliotte Friedman revealed the news on the 32 Thoughts podcast:

I think we're going to find out at some point here that Tkachuk will miss the start of the season. I think he'll be back in time for the Olympics… But I think he's going to miss the start of the year and a chunk of time after that.

Friedman mentions the Winter Olympics — that's not until February, so is he really suggesting that Tkachuk's time out of the lineup could last the entire first half of the 2025-26 NHL season? That remains to be seen.

The Panthers' physical power forward was dealing with some serious stuff this past year, with injuries suffered at the Four Nations tournament in February. He sat out for the rest of the regular season after that.

What were Matthew Tkachuk's injuries?

Tkachuk came back for the playoffs, but was battling through a thigh injury in which the adductor was actually torn off the bone, as well as a sports hernia on the same side of his body.

Incredibly, he was still able to contribute eight goals and 23 points in 23 Stanley Cup playoff games, with a +7 rating, in 17:24 TOI per night.

The Panthers, coming off back-to-back Cup triumphs, have the depth to wait on Tkachuk this coming season until he's fully healthy.