Tkachuk suffered a broken sternum during Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final earlier this year
Tkachuk suffered a broken sternum during Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final earlier this year
Florida Panthers training camp is right around the corner, and the team will have its top scoring player from last season on the ice.
There was some concern that Matthew Tkachuk could miss time due to the way his last season ended.
He was forced to sit out Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final after suffering a broken sternum during Game 3.
No, that is not a typo.
Tkachuk played Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final with a broken sternum. He scoring the game-tying goal in the final minutes of Game 3 and was on the ice for the overtime winner by Carter Verhaeghe with a broken sternum.
The man is a warrior.
He is also going to be a full participant when the Panthers open training camp next week at the Ice Den in Coral Springs.
Speaking to NHL.com’s Dan Rosen earlier this week, Tkachuk said he’s healthy and “feeling great” ahead of the new hockey season.
"It's been a very short summer, the way I want it to be every year going forward,” Tkachuk told Rosen. “The worst timing for the injury, obviously, Stanley Cup Final, but in a weird way I had time after where I wasn't missing X amount of months of game action, so I had the summer to get ready. I definitely improved on some things. The injury allowed me to work on some parts of fitness and conditioning and that is in the best form right now possible, and I just improved on some strength, which was my goal."
During the interview, Tkachuk went on to discuss in some detail what his life was life in the immediate moments and days after he sustained the injury during the first period of Game 3 against the Vegas Golden Knights.
It’s very good news for Florida that Tkachuk has recovered and is now healthy heading into training camp.
The Panthers are expected to be without top defensemen Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour early in the season after both underwent shoulder surgery during the summer.
Florida GM Bill Zito said recently that they were expected back sometime between November and January.
The team has yet to formally announce a start date for training camp, but it’s expected to be late next week.
