It takes luck and good health to win the Stanley Cup, and the Florida Panthers nearly had neither.
Matthew Tkachuk revealed the true extent of his injuries that hampered him earlier in the Stanley Cup playoffs during an interview with TNT Sports after the Panthers won their second straight Cup championship with a 5-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night.
Tkachuk, like most other players participating in the playoffs, was less than 100 percent after Florida’s Game 6 win in the Stanley Cup final.
Despite missing the final 30 regular-season game, Tkachuk still played in all 23 postseason games despite revealing that he had a torn adductor muscle that came off the bone and “had some hernia thing” which he sustained while representing the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
“It’s so emotional, because you have a childhood dream of winning the Stanley Cup,” Tkachuk told Darren Pang of TNT Sports. “To do this back-to-back times and go to the final three times, I mean we’re a dynasty, and I can’t believe this is what happened to me.”
How Bad Was Matthew Tkachuk’s Injury?
If you remember the 2023 Cup final, Tkachuk was hampered by a broken sternum that kept him from playing in the championship-clinching game when the Panthers lost in Game 5 of the Cup final to the Vegas Golden Knights.
But fast forward two seasons, and even though Tkachuk could barely move earlier in the playoffs, he credited the team’s support staff with helping him not miss a game at the most important time of the year.
“This one is more rewarding to me just with everything personally of what I had to overcome. I didn’t know if I would be playing,” Tkachuk said. “I owe a lot of people a lot of thank yous. Our doctors, our medical teams, our trainers, our equipment guy, all of the support staff that doesn’t get a lot of credit, I would not be here without them.
“I wanted to throw in the towel a bunch of times. I’ve got to thank a lot of people for getting me healthy. I wasn’t the easiest to deal with.”
Tkachuk is one of the Panthers’ emotional leaders, but he also is one of their top players. He had 23 points in 23 playoff games this season — and 69 points in 66 playoff games over the past three seasons where Florida has qualified for the Cup final every year.
He had seven points in six games in the Cup final, including a goal in the Cup-clinching game that sealed Florida’s second straight championship.
According to Tkachuk, he continued to feel better as the postseason went along — even though Wayne Gretzky reported after the game that his dad and former-NHL great Keith Tkachuk had told him he shouldn’t even on the ice during Florida’s second round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“It just shows how unbelievable our group is with depth and them allow me to get my footing,” Tkachuk said. “I really didn’t think I’d be playing, or at least playing to my capabilities, but the longer the playoffs went, the better I felt, and I owe that to the guys for giving me some wiggle room to feel good.”
Who Else Did Matthew Tkachuk Thank?
Tkachuk also credited his fiancee Ellie with helping him persevere at his most trying time.
Plus, the Tkachuks are one of hockey’s first families, and he was sure to shout out Keith, his mom Chantel, plus his brother, and Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk.
“I wouldn’t be here without them. I’ve got a great support system at home here,” Tkachuk said. “I have my parents and my brother, and my sister; I wouldn’t be here without all of them.”
Tkachuk came to Panthers in a trade with the Calgary Flames in July 2022, in a trade that changed both his and Florida’s fates forever.
“Coming to Florida was one of the greatest things that ever happened to me,” Tkachuk said. “I owe a lot of thanks to so many people for making that happening and for them believing in me.”
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