Matthew Tkachuk’s rise to stardom with Florida Panthers continues

MIAMI — Matthew Tkachuk, at just 27 years old, is already well on his way to superstardom.

He’s a face of the Florida Panthers, who have made it to the Stanley Cup Final each of the three years he has been with the team since the blockbuster trade that moved him out of Calgary ahead of the 2022-23 season.

He’s a face of Team USA hockey after being a driving force during the 4 Nations Faceoff in February. A spot on the Olympic roster next winter is essentially a lock barring injury.

He’s brash. He’s personable. He’s the type of player you love to have on your team but love to hate when you have to face him. He knows how to work an interview.

And Tkachuk, just nine seasons into his NHL career with so much time still ahead of him, isn’t taking any of it for granted.

“I’m just super lucky, I think,” he said Sunday. “I feel like I’m not even halfway through my career, and I’ve been fortunate enough with so many great things that have happened and been blessed.”

But while most see Tkachuk for who he is and what he does on the ice — the player that gets under opponents’ skin, the player who can impact a game even when he’s far from 100% , the player who, yes, can be an instigator — there’s another layer of Tkachuk that isn’t seen if only looking at his performance.

There’s the player who each of the past two years insisted the entire team — not just the players — be involved in the group photo for the Prince of Wales Trophy after winning the Eastern Conference final.

There’s the player who, on short notice, rallied the whole team together to take part in a walk around Holiday Park just outside their practice facility in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday to honor the late Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau (Tkachuk was teammates with Johnny in Calgary).

There’s the player who knows how to talk up his teammates and help foster a community of success inside the dressing room.

It’s a key part of the identity Tkachuk has forged throughout his career.

And it’s a big reason the Panthers are once again four wins from hoisting the Stanley Cup when they begin their best-of-seven series with the Edmonton Oilers Wednesday.

“I think my life changed, obviously, when I got traded here,” said Tkachuk, who has 254 points (88 goals, 166 assists) in 211 games with the Panthers and another 62 points (22 goals, 40 assists) in 61 playoff games.

“Everything’s just been — it was incredible before when I was playing in Calgary, and it’s just been a whole different beast down here with things that have happened. Hoping to check another box here in a few weeks.”

Tkachuk will be integral in the Panthers’ success. After missing the final two-and-a-half months of the regular season with an apparent groin injury sustained during the 4 Nations Faceoff in mid-February, Tkachuk has steadily found his groove again in the playoffs. He has 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) through 17 postseason games, including two goals and five assists in the conference final against the Carolina Hurricanes.

But even when he wasn’t scoring — he went a 10-game stretch, from Game 4 of Florida’s first-round series against the Lightning through Game 1 against Carolina without a goal — he wasn’t concerned about his individual performance. He was able to find other ways to impact the game. Plus, the team was winning, which takes priority.

“If it goes in, it goes in. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. I’ve never cared,” Tkachuk said. “Sometimes it’s nice to see it go in, but it is what it is. I’m not (Alex) Ovechkin. They are not always going to go in, but when they do, they feel nice.”

Tkachuk’s teammates understand his multifaceted ways of contributing.

“He’s able to be an agitator without taking penalties,” forward A.J. Greer said. “That’s huge for us. A skilled guy who can play in all different types of games.”

Added Sam Bennett, who centers the second line with Tkachuk on his right wing and was also teammates with Tkachuk in Calgary: “He’s a guy that doesn’t need to score to be effective. He’s doing everything on the ice for this team, and when he scores it’s just an added bonus.”

Perhaps just as important — or maybe even more important — is Tkachuk’s emotional intelligence, which coach Paul Maurice said is “elite.”

“He can feel what a game needs. Matthew has that ability,” Maurice said. “It’s not always the hits. It’s what he’ll say on the bench. Sometimes he’ll bark. Sometimes he’ll tap on the pads. But he has a great feel for who’s playing very well on the other team, when we have to get physical, when we have to lay off that. Players are far more important than coaches. If the coach is saying it, it’s ‘Yeah, it might be right.’ If the player’s saying it, they hear it.”

They hear Tkachuk loud and clear. He has been a spark for this team ever since he stepped foot in South Florida. He has embraced his role through and through.

Now, another chance at a Stanley Cup is on the horizon.

“He’s a one-of-a-kind player and we’re lucky to have him on our side,” Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said. “He does it all for us. He’s huge for us.”

Stanley Cup Final

OILERS VS. PANTHERS

(All game 8 p.m. on TNT)

Wed: at Edmonton

Fri: at Edmonton

Mon: at Florida

June 12: at Florida

June 14: at Edmonton*

June 17: at Florida*

June 20: at Edmonton*

*if necessary

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