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Matthew Tkachuk

Panthers Reassign Chris Driedger, Place Matthew Tkachuk On LTIR

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March 6: Driedger is back down to the minors today, according to the AHL’s transactions log. He backed up Sergei Bobrovsky for just one game before Florida traded for Vítek Vaněček to serve as their new No. 2.

March 2: The Florida Panthers have recalled goaltender Chris Driedger from the minor leagues. He will fill the Panthers’ backup goalie role after the squad dealt Spencer Knight to the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday. To clear cap space for the move, Florida has also placed star Matthew Tkachuk on long-term injured reserve with a lower-body injury, per PuckPedia.

Tkachuk sustained his injury in the second game of Team USA’s 4-Nations Face-Off tournament. It is believed to be a groin injury, though specifics haven’t been revealed. Tkachuk sat out of Team USA’s final round-robin game then made an effort to appear in the championship game against Team Canada, but only played 6:47 of the overtime loss. He has missed four games since Florida returned from the break. He was getting second opinions on his injury as recent as last week, but will now need to miss at least a month – per ESPN’s Emily Kaplan.

Florida has won three of their four games back from break – but Tkachuk’s absence still leaves a glaring hole on the top line. He has continued to dominate across the board for the Panthers, with 22 goals, 57 points, 54 penalty minutes, and 84 hits in 54 games. He ranks second on the team in goals and points, behind Sam Reinhart in both categories.

The Panthers have promoted Mackie Samoskevich and Evan Rodrigues to hardier roles in Tkachuk’s absence. Rookie winger Samoskevich has found his stride as of late, with seven points in his last 11 games. That burst has brought him to 19 points in 52 games this season – a number that could soar with expanded minutes. Rodrigues had continued his consistent two-way impact on the other side, with 27 points in 61 games putting him on pace to just miss the 39 point mark he’s posted in each of the last two seasons.

The promotions continue through the offense and into the net. Driedger signed a one-year deal with Florida this summer and has spent the entire year in the minor leagues. He narrowly leads the Charlotte Checkers with 20 games played, one more than fellow pro veteran Ken Appleby. Driedger has posted the worst stat line of the two, with a .878 save percentage and 10-6-4 record.

Despite that, it was hard to imagine Florida would turn towards anyone else to fill their backup spot. Driedger has 67 games of NHL experience, with the bulk coming between 2020 and 2022 in tenures with Florida and Seattle. He has a stout .917 SV% and 31-24-5 record on his career. Florida will hope he can rediscover those numbers quickly after a down year in the minor leagues.

Panthers Hope To Get Matthew Tkachuk Back For The Playoffs

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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.

Matthew Tkachuk Expected To Play Again This Season

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The Panthers may have star winger Matthew Tkachuk out for more than the next few games, but his absence won’t persist for the rest of the season. Head coach Paul Maurice confirmed as such on the Joe Rose Show on Monday, saying “he’s playing for us this year” even with the “possibility [his recovery] a bit longer term” (via George Richards of Florida Hockey Now).

Tkachuk missed the Panthers’ 2-1 loss to the Kraken on Saturday with the lower-body injury, which multiple reports indicate is a groin issue, he sustained while playing for the Americans at the 4 Nations Face-Off. Maurice said he’s undergoing final evaluations to determine a recovery timeline today.

Florida is comfortably in a playoff spot, but their final standing in the Atlantic Division remains to be seen and could be significantly impacted by Tkachuk’s absence. They’ve been passed by the Maple Leafs once again for the top spot, now one point back with one more game played, and they’re facing pressure from the surging Lightning in third place. There’s now a 20% chance of the Cats slipping to third and another 6.1% of them falling to a wild-card spot, per MoneyPuck. The Panthers have gone 6-4-1 in 11 games without Tkachuk since acquiring him in a blockbuster trade with the Flames in 2022.

Tkachuk isn’t on pace to reach the 40-goal, 109-point heights of his first season in Florida, but he remains at a 1.10 points-per-game pace and ranks second on the team with a 22-35–57 scoring line. He’s been limited to 52 of 58 games, missing five contests back in October with an illness, but remains the team’s leader in power-play goals with 11 and even-strength assists with 23.

In the meantime, rookie Mackie Samoskevich will be the biggest benefactor of Tkachuk’s minutes. He stepped into the latter’s usual second-line role alongside Sam Bennett in the Seattle game. While he didn’t record a point, he logged a season-high 17:23 of ice time and recorded two shots on goal and three hits. The 2021 first-round pick hasn’t played much over the past month due to injury and illness, but he’s been a solid depth piece in his first entire NHL campaign with 8-9–17 through 49 appearances.

An anticipated return before the postseason or early into the first round likely won’t impact the Panthers’ trade deadline strategy too much. Their top priority will continue to be adding a name to a blue line that’s punched above its weight this year after losing key names on last summer’s free-agent market, contributing to an increase of 0.47 goals against per game compared to 2023-24’s league-best defensive effort.

Atlantic Notes: Tuch, Tkachuk, Canadiens

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Sabres winger Alex Tuch has been involved in plenty of trade speculation lately with teams believed to be calling Buffalo to see if they might consider moving him.  However, if he has his way, he won’t be going anywhere.  Tuch told Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News that he remains “heavily committed to this organization” and still hopes to be with the team past the upcoming trade deadline.  The 28-year-old has 19 goals and 24 assists in 54 games this season on Buffalo’s top line and is only two years removed from a 79-point campaign.  He’s one of their better bargains at a $4.75MM price tag which means that if the Sabres do decide to move him, they’ll be in line to land a significant return for his services.  But it doesn’t sound like that’s the direction that Tuch would like to see things go.

More from the Atlantic:

  • Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk won’t play against Seattle due to a lower-body injury. Head coach Paul Maurice told reporters including George Richards of Florida Hockey Now (Twitter link) that he will be assessed by Florida’s medical staff in the coming days to get a sense of how long he might be out for.  ESPN’s John Buccigross adds (Twitter link) that the early sense is that Tkachuk could be out for a while.  He suffered the injury playing at the 4 Nations Face-Off and wasn’t able to play much in the championship game on Thursday, logging less than seven minutes of ice time with his last shift coming late in the second period.
  • The Canadiens have had discussions with the agents of pending UFAs David Savard and Joel Armia, reports Guillaume Lefrancois of La Presse. Savard has been in trade speculation going back to last season with teams often looking to add size and grit on their back end for a playoff run and while his ice time is down this season (he has a 17:46 ATOI), there will be teams interested in him as a third-pairing piece if a new deal can’t be reached.  Armia, meanwhile, cleared waivers at the beginning of last season but bounced back to record 17 goals last year and is on pace to set a new career high in points this season while being one of the most-used forwards shorthanded league-wide.
  • One pending UFA in Montreal who hasn’t had discussions with the Canadiens about a new deal is center Christian Dvorak, relays Richard Labbe of La Presse. Dvorak has struggled offensively the past two years and has just 17 points in 56 games so far this season, hardly a great return on a $4.45MM price tag.  He’s winning over 57% of his faceoffs, however, which could draw some interest trade-wise as well.  Notably, Montreal only has one salary retention slot remaining to use between Dvorak, Savard, Armia, or even Jake Evans if the two sides can’t reach an agreement on an extension before March 7th.

4 Nations Notes: Tkachuk, Makar, Armia, Teräväinen

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One of the more unfortunate substories during Team USA’s victory over Team Canada on Saturday night was the lower-body injury forward Matthew Tkachuk suffered in the third period. He won’t play against Team Sweden tonight, as Dan Rosen of the NHL reported that Tkachuk didn’t practice with the team this morning.

Since they are the only team in the tournament with two regulation wins, there’s not much on the line for Team USA this evening. However, it seems the United States is confident Tkachuk will return for the championship game on Thursday. Amalie Benjamin of The Boston Globe shared a note from Matthew’s brother, Brady Tkachuk, saying Matthew will be ’good to go’ for Thursday’s matchup.

It’ll be important for the United States to get Matthew back in the lineup for the championship contest. He scored two goals and one assist in their victory against Team Finland last week and got the all-important matchup against Canada started with a fight against Brandon Hagel off the opening faceoff. Much like they are for their respective NHL clubs, the Tkachuk brothers have quickly become Teams USA’s emotional lifeblood.

Other notes from the 4 Nations Face-Off:

  • Another important substory from Saturday night’s rivalry matchup between Canada and the United States was the lack of the former’s top defenseman, Cale Makar. The former James Norris, Calder, and Conn Smythe Trophy winner was dealing with an illness that prohibited him from participating. Unfortunately for Team Canada, there’s no guarantee he’ll return against Team Finland. ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski shared that Makar has again been listed as a game-time decision for today’s matchup, meaning a firmer decision will be made closer to puck drop.
  • Speaking of Team Finland, the team’s forward grouping will look slightly different. Dan Rosen reported that Montreal Canadiens forward Joel Armia is replacing Chicago Blackhawks’ Teuvo Teräväinen in this afternoon’s lineup. Teräväinen has gone scoreless throughout the tournament averaging approximately 8:30 of ice time per game.

Team USA’s Matthew Tkachuk Suffers Lower-Body Injury

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Team USA finally broke their losing streak against Team Canada on Saturday, emerging from the sides’ first meeting in over nine years with a closely-fought 3-1 victory. But the win has come at a cost, as top-line winger Matthew Tkachuk has been announced as out with a lower-body injury, head coach Mike Sullivan told NHL.com’s Dan Rosen. Sullivan made no indication of if Tkachuk would be available for USA’s Monday matchup against Team Sweden. The game will be relatively low-stakes given USA has already clinched a championship spot, which could offer Tkachuk a timely break.

It wasn’t clear when Tkachuk suffered his injury. He played his final shift with 12 minutes remaining in the third period and stayed on the bench for the rest of the game. Tkachuk appeared to be nursing his right leg as he skated to the bench – and skated around during the final TV timeouts – though it’s not clear if that’s the site of his new injury. A few minutes after his last shift, Tkachuk appeared to tell Sullivan and assistant coach John Tortorella that he wouldn’t be able to play.

Tkachuk has been the energizer for Team USA through their first two games. He scored two goals and added an assist in the country’s 6-1 routing of Team Finland, and kicked off the matchup against Canada with a fight off the opening draw. He’s added four hits – and also leads the tournament in high-danger shots on goal per NHL Edge. Tkachuk has spent the first two games glued to America’s top line, rotating between pairings with Jake Guentzel and Auston Matthews; and Brady Tkachuk and Jack Eichel. His fluid role of high-scoring bruiser will be a tough one to fill knowing that USA’s extra forward is New York Rangers winger Chris Kreider – who has just six hits in 47 NHL games this season.

Tkachuk’s absence could kneecap Team USA headed into the 4-Nations championship, but his long-term health must be top priority. He ranks second on the Florida Panthers in scoring this year, with 22 goals and 57 points in 52 games placing him just five points behind Sam Reinhart. Tkachuk also ranks third on the team in penalty minutes, likely part of why he’s averaged just 18 minutes of ice time all year. Tkachuk scored 22 points in 24 games of Florida’s Stanley Cup run last season. His presence will be pivotal to the team’s chances at a repeat.

Atlantic Notes: Tkachuk, Perron, Greenway

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The defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers have gotten off to a strong start this season to the tune of a 4-2-1 record which becomes more impressive when considering the team has been without forwards Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk for five games. The latter has been out for more than a week with an illness but should return tomorrow night against the Minnesota Wild according to David Dwork of The Hockey News.

Tkachuk managed two assists in two games for the Panthers to start the season before exiting the lineup on October 14th. He’s expected to slot in on the right wing next to familiar linemates Sam Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe.

He should have been a popular candidate to replace Eetu Luostarinen on Florida’s first line but their production over the last few games leaves little room for upgrade. According to Hockey Reference, the combination of Luostarinen, Sam Reinhart, and Anton Lundell has produced 23 points through seven games with an even more impressive E +/- of 8.1.

Other Atlantic notes:

  •  The Ottawa Senators’ most notable unrestricted free agent signing from this past offseason, David Perron, will be away from the team for the foreseeable future due to personal reasons (X Link). Perron joined the Senators on a two-year, $8MM pact to take on a similar role to his tenure with the Detroit Red Wings. He’s gone scoreless through his initial five games with the organization and will look to rebound upon his return.
  • Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News reported earlier that forward Jordan Greenway has returned to practice for the Buffalo Sabres after suffering an upper-body injury and Mike Harrington of Buffalo News Sports later added he could feature in the lineup tomorrow. Greenway was a surprise scratch in the team’s most recent game against the Chicago Blackhawks a few days ago as it took until after the contest to learn about his upper-body injury. He currently sits tied for fourth on Buffalo in scoring with two goals and four points through the first six games. 

Snapshots: Panthers, Joshua, Honzek, Harkins

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Already missing three forwards due to illness or injuries, the Panthers won’t have forward Jonah Gadjovich available to them tonight against Vegas due to an undisclosed injury, relays team reporter Jameson Olive.  The 26-year-old has taken a regular turn on the fourth line so far this season, picking up a goal in Florida’s first six games.  As Florida doesn’t have enough cap space to afford a recall from the minors, they will dress just 17 skaters for this one, ten forwards and seven blueliners.

It’s not all bad news on that front, however.  Head coach Paul Maurice indicated that winger Matthew Tkachuk is expected to return from his illness on Tuesday while captain Aleksander Barkov should be back not long after that.  Meanwhile, Tomas Nosek is due to return early next month for their Global Series games.  With that in mind, while the Panthers will be eligible for a cap-exempt recall after tonight’s contest, they’re unlikely to actually need to use it.

More from around the NHL:

  • Canucks forward Dakota Joshua skated today for the first time as he continues to recover from surgery to address a cancerous lump from earlier this summer, mentions NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman (Twitter link). The 28-year-old had a breakout effort last season, notching career-highs in goals (18), assists (14), points (32), and hits (245) across 63 regular season contests, earning him a four-year, $13MM extension in late June.  There remains no timetable for Joshua’s return but the fact he has returned to the ice is certainly a good sign.
  • The Flames have placed forward Samuel Honzek on injured reserve, relays Tim Hiebert of The Hockey News (Twitter link). The 19-year-old is in his first professional season and played in four games before sustaining an upper-body injury that will keep him out on a week-to-week basis.  Calgary now has an open slot on their active roster and it stands to reason that it won’t take too long for it to be filled, likely with the expected pending return of Kevin Rooney who was a full participant in practice on Friday.
  • The Ducks have re-assigned forward Jansen Harkins to AHL San Diego, per the AHL’s transactions log. The 27-year-old is in his first season with Anaheim after signing with them in free agency but cleared waivers at the end of training camp.  Harkins was brought up yesterday following the injury to Isac Lundestrom and Frank Vatrano’s absence from the team for paternity leave and he suited up in their loss to Colorado, recording one shot on goal in 10:11 of ice time.  In a corresponding move, Vatrano is now back on the active roster.

Panthers’ Matthew Tkachuk Expected To Miss A Week

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Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice shared that superstar Matthew Tkachuk is expected to miss about a week with an illness. Maurice said that the team is targeting Florida’s October 22nd matchup against the Minnesota Wild as Tkachuk’s return date. He already missed one game with the ailment, sitting out of Florida’s Saturday loss to the Buffalo Sabres.

Tkachuk joins linemate Aleksander Barkov in Florida’s press box – though, with illness, hopefully not sitting too close – while Barkov nurses a week-to-week, lower-body injury of his own. Maurice shared on Sunday that Barkov is expected to miss two-to-three weeks, targeting a return before November.

Tkachuk has continued his starring role in Florida, recording 2’s across the board so far – with a stat line that reads two games played, two assists, two penalty minutes, and a +2. He was a pivotal in Florida’s run to their first Stanley Cup last season, netting 26 goals and 88 points in the regular season and 22 points in 24 postseason games. That wasn’t enough to earn Tkachuk any votes for the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP last year, though he did receive one vote in 2023 – after netting 24 points in 20 games of Florida’s other run to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Regardless of award voting, Tkachuk has proven the premier scorer on Florida’s lineup, stamped by a career-high 109 points in his first season with the team. His role will be daunting to replace, and likely force Florida to lean much more on secondary scorer Sam Reinhart. Rookie Mackie Samoskevich could also get a boost, though three scoreless games to start this season now have him up to 10 NHL games without his first career point. If not Samoskevich, then next up would be fellow rookie Patrick Giles.

Injury Updates: Barkov, Woll, Peterka, Rust

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7:00 PM : After originally being labeled a game-time decision, Penguins winger Bryan Rust has made his return to the lineup. It’s his season debut, returning him to his role on Sidney Crosby’s wing, where he recorded 28 goals and 56 points in 62 games last season.

2:00 PM : The lower-body injury to Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov won’t keep him out for long.  Head coach Paul Maurice told reporters including Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News (Twitter link) that the center is expected to miss two to three weeks and is expected to be ready to play by the time Florida heads overseas in early November for games in Barkov’s native Finland, if not before then.  That means he shouldn’t miss any more time relative to his original week-to-week designation.  The 29-year-old has been a high-end two-way top center for several seasons now and has put up at least 78 points in each of the last three seasons.  Harrington also noted that Florida winger Matthew Tkachuk won’t play tonight against Buffalo although his absence isn’t injury-related but rather due to illness.

Other injury news from around the NHL:

  • Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll is progressing from his lower-body injury but still has not returned to the ice, relays Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun (Twitter link). The netminder was expected to get the start on Wednesday’s opener but was scratched earlier in the day, landing on IR retroactively to his last preseason appearance to make a roster spot for Dennis Hildeby.  Woll is entering his second full NHL season and posted a 2.97 GAA with a .904 SV% in 25 games last season and added a 0.86 GAA with a .963 SV% in three playoff appearances.
  • While the Sabres were hoping that winger J-J Peterka would be able to suit up tonight, the team announced that won’t be the case as he’ll miss his second straight game due to a concussion. However, head coach Lindy Ruff indicated that he’s hopeful Peterka will be able to suit up on Wednesday.
  • Penguins winger Bryan Rust is listed as a game-time decision for tonight’s game against Toronto, notes Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now. The veteran has been listed as day-to-day for the last couple of weeks with a lower-body injury, landing him on IR to start the season but he was a full participant in Pittsburgh’s morning skate.  Rust had 28 goals and 28 assists in 62 games for the Penguins last season.  The team has an open roster spot so they won’t have to send someone down if Rust is indeed cleared to play.

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