Tkachuk's days in Calgary left something to be desired in the playoff department, but he sure squashed that noise with the Panthers

Let's be honest, there was a point during the 2022-23 NHL season where there was considerable doubt that the Florida Panthers were not even going to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

From winning the Presidents’ Trophy the season before to the trade for Matthew Tkachuk, to being nine points out of the final Wild Card spot late in the season, to reaching the Stanley Cup Final, it's easy to call last season a roller coaster, for good and bad.

It’s no argument that the Florida Panthers getting swept out of the second round in 2021 was embarrassing, which led to a lot of questions once Bill Zito made the moves that he did: not removing the interim tag off of Andrew Brunette and instead hiring Paul Maurice as head coach, and then trading for Matthew Tkachuk.

In a series of posts, THN Florida will go over some of the myths that the Florida Panthers disproved (aka Mythbusters) during last season, and what myths the Panthers could bust this upcoming season.

Myth No. 1: Matthew Tkachuk is not a postseason performer

As has been discussed on the Locked On Florida Panthers Podcast last season, Matthew Tkachuk was the net front presence the Cats were missing. Outside of Sam Reinhart, the only other player that was consistently getting to the front of the net was Patric Hornqvist, who battled his fair share of head injuries during the 2022-23 season. One can argue Sam Bennett as well. The talk however, especially from media and fans in Alberta, was that Tkachuk crumbles in the big moments.

The man nicknamed ‘Chucky’ played a total of 27 postseason games for the Calgary Flames over four years, registering seven goals and 15 points over that span. In 20 postseason games for the Panthers, he averaged over a point per game with 11 goals and 24 points, including four game-winning goals (three of them in the Eastern Conference Final alone). He had zero GWG’s during his playoff career in Calgary.

Tkachuk also averaged more TOI (time on ice) during the 2023 postseason than his four previous appearances, going from 17:17 average TOI to 21:38.

As Tkachuk has become a more polished player, he’s earned the trust of the coaching staff to give him more ice time. He did have 104 points in the regular season in his final year in Calgary before the trade.

Tkachuk’s giveaway to takeaway ratio during the playoffs went from 27-10 during his time in Calgary to 21-12 last season in Florida. He definitely took better care of the puck during the Panthers postseason run earlier this year.

It does not stop here though.

Mathew had 11 blocked shots in 27 postseason games with Calgary and has almost matched that number in 20 games with Florida, blocking seven.

Looking at his hits, the numbers really jump out at you. Tkachuk logged 58 hits in 20 postseason games for Florida while collecting 47 hits in 27 games with the Flames.

Although Tkachuk is not the only physical presence that the Panthers had on their roster, the fact that he was not afraid to lay the body for a puck-separating hit that can create a transition opportunity made a huge difference during the 2023 postseason. Opposing coaches during their pre-game to their teams probably said something along the lines of, “Watch number 19 when he’s on the ice. Keep your head on a swivel.”