Tkachuk Resumes Skating, but Panthers Star’s Return Still Uncertain
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Matthew Tkachuk is back skating, though the Florida Panthers still don’t have a set date for their star’s season debut. Tkachuk underwent surgery in August after spending much of the second half of last season, including Florida’s run to their second consecutive Stanley Cup, dealing with a sports hernia and a torn adductor. The player offered this information on the “Wingmen” podcast, which he co-hosts with his brother, Brady Tkachuk of the Ottawa Senators.The Panthers have been operating under the premise that Tkachuk could return “around December”, which still makes sense. His return will be a big boost for an injury-hit team, which has been without its captain, Aleksander Barkov, after suffering a torn ACL in the first practice. Tkachuk spent the first few weeks of the summer in rehabilitation hoping to avoid surgery, but ultimately underwent the procedure immediately after his wedding and honeymoon in France. He skated twice last week — “the first time I’ve put on skates, really, since Game 6” of the Stanley Cup Final, he said — and then met with doctors to define the next phase of his plan.“He still has a ways to go, but he’s back on the ice and he wasn’t two weeks ago,” said Panthers coach Paul Maurice. “So we’re taking it step by step.”
Paul Maurice
Maurice indicated that Tkachuk must meet several objectives along the way. Tkachuk missed the last 25 games of the regular season last spring, but was able to play despite injuries for the Panthers, who won their second consecutive Stanley Cup. It also appears that Tkachuk will be with the USA Hockey team at the Milan-Cortina Olympics in February. In 23 playoff games, he accumulated 23 points (8 goals, 15 assists), including seven points in the Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers. The Panthers defeated the Oilers in six games.“I’m excited to go out with the guys,” Tkachuk said. “I don’t know when it will be, but obviously I’m overcoming that obstacle and it will be sooner rather than later. It’s starting to go very, very well.”
Matthew Tkachuk
“I just have to get going and start feeling good, and hopefully pick up where I left off, hopefully better,” Tkachuk said. “That’s the ideal plan.”
Matthew Tkachuk
