Matthew Tkachuk 'hates Tampa' now that he's a Florida Panther
You really have to hand it to Matthew Tkachuk; he sure knows how to lean into a rivalry.
The long-time Calgary Flames forward has left the Great White North for Sunrise, Florida to play for the Panthers, which means he has also traded in the Battle of Alberta between the Flames and the Edmonton Oilers for the Battle of Florida — between his new team and the dominant Tampa Bay Lightning.
Tkachuk hasn't even suited up for the Panthers yet, but he is already taking this new rivalry very seriously.
"I hate Edmonton, but I hate Tampa more now," Tkachuk said on Monday in his introduction to the Sunshine State.
The Flames made headlines on Friday night when they traded the 24-year-old agitator and a conditional fourth-round pick to the Panthers for franchise points leader Jonathan Huberdeau, defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, prospect Cole Schwindt, and Florida's lottery-protected first-round selection in the 2025 NHL draft. It was already public knowledge that Tkachuk wanted a change of scenery after Johnny Gaudreau left Calgary for the Columbus Blue Jackets, so the young winger worked with Flames general manager Brad Trevling so a trade could be made that would benefit both parties. Now, Tkachuk is signed to an eight-year contract extension worth $76M.
"I got a call from my uncle, who’s the best agent in the world — he called me Friday in the afternoon. … He said, ‘We might have something done with Florida.’ I was the happiest person ever," Tkachuk said, via SportsNet.
Tkachuk enters his first season with Florida coming off the best campaign of his NHL career. He had his first 100-points plus season — scoring 104 points in 82 games played, including six game-winning goals and 12 power-play goals. Meanwhile, the Panthers are coming off of a franchise-best 122-point season and have made moves this offseason that appear to only be making them better.
Florida now looks to have another highly successful season, and hopefully make it further into the playoffs. Their last two playoff runs have been cut short by none other than the Tampa Bay Lightning, and Tkachuk is already excited for the teams to meet up in the regular season.
"I'm excited for those games," Tkachuk said, via ESPN. "They're the team to beat. It seems like for us we're going to have to go through them at some point, so I'm excited for that challenge. They know what it takes to win, and we're going to learn that."
More must-reads: