Tkachuk's impressive first year with Florida is overshadowed by the ridiculous season had by Edmonton superstar Connor McDavid
Matthew Tkachuk had a Hart Trophy-worthy season during this first year with the Florida Panthers.
When looking at the different ways he impacts the game, Tkachuk’s value to the Panthers hits on so many levels that it seems like a foregone conclusion that he will someday be properly recognized for what he does.
Unfortunately for Tkachuk, his first season as a true MVP candidate came in the year that another player blew the roof off the competition.
Edmonton’s Connor McDavid was a unanimous Hart Trophy winner in 2021 when he put up 33 goals and 105 points in the 56-game COVID shortened season.
Some argue he was even better this season, scoring 64 goals and 153 points during a normal 82-game season (in which McDavid competed against the entire league, not just an all-Canadian division) while impacting the game in ways he wasn’t quite doing two years ago.
He did things last year that had only been done by guys named Gretzky and Lemieux.
So yeah, McDavid was otherworldly.
That doesn’t take anything away from what Tkachuk did for the Panthers this season, though.
The case for Tkachuk as a Hart Trophy candidate got stronger as the season progressed.
You could say his performance, and overall personality, during the NHL All-Star Game poured gasoline on the fire.
That’ll happen when the flashy hometown superstar is named Most Valuable Player after leading his team to victory in front of a raucous pro-Panthers, and pro-Tkachuk, crowd.
Then when you take into account what Tkachuk did to get Florida into the playoffs, and then the way he stepped up and scored big goal after goal during the playoffs, it’s easy to view him as an MVP.
Of course, the playoffs aren’t part of the Hart Trophy race. That’s why it is voted on before the postseason begins.
If it wasn’t, and votes cast by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association were made after the playoffs were over, perhaps this year’s race would be a bit tighter.
“It's hard to put a label on what he accomplished and the way that he accomplished it in the playoffs,” Panthers General Manager Bill Zito told the media last week. “At the same time, knowing him and interacting with him daily, he didn't do anything different. He just is a hockey player. That's what he does and loves it, loves the game, loves playing, loves his teammates, and so that is really just an extension of what he is.
“What he tried to do at the end was so courageous. Just when you think you can earn more respect, you do.”
Almost a year has passed since the blockbuster trade that took Tkachuk from Calgary to Sunrise.
He’s under contract until 2030, set to be with the Panthers through the prime years of his career.
Would anyone be surprised if he won a Hart Trophy or two between now and then?
Based off how the past 11 months have gone for both Tkachuk and his new hockey team, it would appear the fit couldn’t have been better and continued success should be on the horizon.
“He loves hockey, he loves being a player and living in South Florida. It's all real,” Zito said. “He's a wonderful ambassador of the game, of the Panthers, and we're fortunate to have him.”