The Florida Panthers are hopeful that they will get star forward Matthew Tkachuk back into the lineup for the playoffs (as per George Richards of NHL.com). Panthers’ general manager spoke Monday saying that Tkachuk would be out for “an extended period of time” but didn’t mention any concrete dates for a potential return to action.
The 27-year-old suffered a lower-body injury during the 4 Nations Face-Off and missed the United States’ third round robin game against Sweden and skated for just 6:47 in the final against Canada. Tkachuk has not skated since the end of that tournament.
The Panthers placed Tkachuk on long-term injured reserve yesterday and can bank that cap space under the salary cap, which could open the door for more moves even though Florida just picked up defenseman Seth Jones over the weekend. The Panthers will likely be busy this week as they look to add to their lineup in hopes of defending their Stanley Cup title. Cap space is unlikely to be an issue for Florida to make moves at the deadline, however, finding assets to trade could be a problem. The Panthers do not have a single draft pick in the first three rounds of this year’s NHL Entry Draft and have just a second-round pick in the first three rounds of next year’s draft. Their prospect situation is even more dire as the Panthers were recently ranked dead last in the NHL in prospect pool rankings by Scott Wheeler of The Athletic.
It’s hard to imagine the team going deep without Tkachuk, who has been their heart and soul since coming over from Calgary in July 2022. Tkachuk has posted 22 goals and 35 assists in 52 games this season and has helped lead the Panthers to a 37-21-3 record which is good enough for second in the Atlantic Division. Tkachuk has been instrumental in getting Florida to the Stanley Cup Finals in back-to-back seasons, posting 17 goals and 29 assists in 44 playoff games since joining the Panthers.
Just cap circumvention obviously. If Vegas can do it no reason Florida can’t.
Please explain how this would be salary cap circumvention when utilizing the cap in this manner was collectively bargained.
Well, he is out for the season. The Panthers have put him on LTIR. Giving them cap space. Pretty simple.
He might actually be out the rest of the season. I read the first round pick sent to Chicago is conditional for 26 or 27 if they get a separate deal for the 26. Nice to see both Jones and Knight playing well for their new teams tonight.
The conditional part was based on a previous trade of the Panthers 2025 1R pick. If it lands in the top 10, it would be pushed to 2026, which would then push the 1R pick going to the ‘Hawks to 2027.
Well I would imagine so