Matthew Tkachuk and members of the Florida Panthers staff will help push Team USA's Olympic charge.
The Florida Panthers are going to be very well represented at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Players and staff members have begun arriving overseas in Italy, as the NHL is participating for the first time since 2014.
The fun all gets started on Wednesday, when Slovakia faces Finland in the opening match of the men’s hockey tournament.
In the coming days, THN Florida is going to let you know which Panthers players, coaches and staffers are suiting up with their respective countries in Milan, starting today with the United States.
We’ll start with star forward Matthew Tkachuk, who will be suiting up alongside his brother Brady for Team USA.
Tkachuk spent the majority of the NHL season on injured reserve while he recovered from offseason surgery on a torn adductor and sports hernia.
He returned on Jan. 19 when the Panthers host the San Jose Sharks and was able to play in 10 games before the NHL hit the pause button.
In those 10 contests, Tkachuk accumulated three goals and eight points while averaging 18:41 of time on ice. Six of those points, including two of the three goals, have come while Florida has been on the power play.
He’s ripped 29 shots on 56 attempts, which breaks down to 2.9 shots per game on 5.6 attempts. That’s not that far off from the 3.0 shots on 6.07 attempts he averaged last season.
Tkahcuk has also racked up 21 penalty minutes and has skated to a minus-seven on-ice rating.
It’s clear he’s been slowly but surely working his way back to his normal playing shape, so it will be interesting to see how big of an impact the unicorn of a player can have at the Olympics.
We saw the difference between a healthy Tkachuk and a hobbled Tkachuk at last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off.
Unfortunately, Panthers teammate Seth Jones will not be joining Tkachuk on the team despite being initially named as an initial member of the roster.
Jones was injured during the 2026 Winter Classic at loanDepot park when he took a deflected shot off what appeared to be his shoulder/collarbone area. THN Florida has learned that Jones has since underwent a procedure as a result of the injury, but he is still expected back in Florida’s lineup after the Olympic break.
Joining Tkachuk on Team USA will be Panthers General Manager Bill Zito and Head Equipment Manager Teddy Richards.
Zito has shot up the NHL GM rankings since being hired by Florida back in September of 2020.
He and his staff have built one of the most formidable and sustainable rosters the league has seen in years, one that includes financial flexibility in the coming years that will allow the team to build on what it has already accomplished.
Richards has been with the Panthers since 2016 after coming over from the Pittsburgh Penguins organization. He was also part of the United States’ staff at 4 Nations last year.
Team USA plays its first game at the Milano Santagiulia Arena on Thursday, Feb. 12 at 3:10 p.m. ET against Latvia.
Their second game is Saturday, Feb. 14 at 3:10 p.m. ET against Denmark, and game three is the following day, Sunday, Feb. 15, against Germany, also at 3:10 p.m. ET.
All games will air nationally on USA Network.
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Photo caption: Feb 13, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team USA forward Matthew Tkachuk (19) celebrates his goal against Team Finland in the third period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre. (David Kirouac-Imagn Images)