Paul Maurice reveals why pairing Florida’s newest superstar with Sasha Barkov unlocks a terrifying new dimension for the defending champions, prioritizing chemistry over immediate point production.
One of the biggest moves of the NHL offseason was the blockbuster trade that brought Brady Tkachuk to South Florida.
It was back on Father’s Day that news broke of the Florida Panthers sending three first-round draft picks and a second-round selection to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for their captain, the 27-year-old younger Tkachuk brother.
Florida was already considered one of the deepest and most talented teams in the league, so adding an elite All-Star-level player like Tkachuk to the Cats’ formidable, championship roster only makes the Panthers that much bigger of a threat to win another Stanley Cup (or two, or three...).
Considering the talent that Florida has collected among their forward group, a question that came up almost immediately after the trade became public was who would Brady line up beside when he takes the ice with the Panthers?
While it may be something that fans and media members have toiled over, Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice indicated that he isn’t going too deep on this one.
“I don't play with that mentally too much,” Maurice said.
Between Maurice and Panthers General Manager Bill Zito, the idea has been floated that Tkachuk will start off on Florida’s top line, next to Sasha Barkov and Sam Reinhart.
Maurice explained the reasoning behind it, indicating that it had as much to do with Brady Tkachuk as it did with the center he was being paired up with.
“I think having Brady there, even if you didn't have a feel for it, like if there wasn't a tell that this might work, you'd put him there anyway, right?” Maurice said. “Because we like (Luostarinen) and (Lundell) where they are, and (Verhaeghe, Bennett and Matthew Tkchuk) have been so good at certain times. Well, there's a hole (on the top line) so just put (Brady) there. We spend a lot of time talking about Sasha Barkov and how good he is, but he's never actually played with a big man that could control the puck; he's played with speed. And the other thing is, I think Sam Reinhart is one of the smartest players I’ve ever coached, and he went two years of 20 games with no production with Brakov, which didn't make any sense.”
Maurice said that he plans to show some patience with the new trio, if that is indeed how the top line shakes out when Florida opens the season in a couple weeks against the Carolina Hurricanes.
The reason for that, according to Maurice, is the potential of what Brady Tkachuk may be able to add to the duo of Barkov and Reinhart.
That’s why we may see a decent amount of those three on the ice together as the season progresses, regardless of what kind of point totals they produce.
“If we get to that, and Brady's with those two, and (the production) doesn't happen, I'm going to let it run for a while,” Maurice said. “I'm not going to be worried about getting Brady a bunch of points so that everybody can be happy about the trade. He's a way better player than that, a way more mature man than that. I'll let it run for a little while, and I'll change it, but I'll come back to it because I believe it could be great for Sasha.”
Along with Maurice, you can count Barkov among those who are both intrigued and excited to see what may come from him playing on a line with Brady.
They’ve gone head-to-head quite a few times over the past several years, as Barkov often draws the assignment of defending the best forwards Florida’s opposition has to offer.
“It’s a dream come true to play with players like that, and we have a lot of those guys on our team that you really play against at some point in your career, and you think about like, ‘I hate to play against him, I would love to play with him,’ and he's one of those guys,” Barkov said. “So definitely excited about that chance to play on the same team, and if Paul says we're on the same line, we're on the same line then.”
It’s a sentiment that’s also felt by Brady.
“For me, I’m just excited about the opportunity,” he said of skating with Barkov and Reinhart. “They’re two of the some of the best players in the NHL, and you know, whatever coach (and the) team thinks is best for my role and fit, because at the end of the day, it's all about winning. But for me to be able to learn from them and their skill sets, and I’ll provide my element, it’s something that I'm really looking forward to.”
There is no denying that Barkov is a magician with the puck on his stick.
His skills with the puck while playing a high-end 200-foot game are well documented, but he’s not the only player on the potential line who can dangle.
Maurice feels that if Barkov is on the ice with Brady, the younger Tkachuk also has such strong puck skills that he’ll be able to take some of that weight off Barkov’s plate, which could open the Finnish star up to do different things in other areas.
Combine that with a third linemate who just happens to be one of the league’s preeminent goal scorers and Florida could have one heck of a top unit.
“This isn't all about bringing in the new guy,” Maurice said. “It could be great for Sasha, a big man that can control the puck, because the big man that can control the puck on that line is Barkov. Well, that's a lot of big being big and a lot of control of the puck. That's a lot of wear and tear. You can spread that out over another guy, another big man, and I got a really good shooter, so between two big guys that you can't get the puck off easily, a guy who can find the hole and shoot the puck, it could be really good.”
Barkov, Brady and Reinhart have also skated together multiple times over the past few weeks, gathering with other Panthers teammates at the team’s practice facility in Fort Lauderdale.
The informal workouts, along with a handful of golf outings and family dinners, only help in building the chemistry among these superstar athletes.
“It's only going to grow on the ice,” said Reinhart. “I think when you get those reps with one another, that's going to be an important part of our training camp, starting tomorrow on the ice. We can only replicate that so much in the skates leading into camp.”
Whatever happened on the ice between Florida’s star forwards, it’s got them all buzzing about the potential of what the group can accomplish once the games start to count.
“Every time we've skated together, even before camp, every time they touch a puck, something special happens,” said Brady. “So to have that opportunity, just going to try to bring my element, bring my game, and help out in any way possible.”
Now for those wondering, the topic of Brady playing on Florida’s top line was also discussed with his big brother.
There haven’t been many opportunities for Matthew and Brady to skate together over the years, but when they have, it’s generally been for some pretty substantial hockey games.
In those contests, whether it be at the 4 Nations Face-Off or the Winter Olympics, Matthew feels it’s some of the best hockey he’s seen out of his brother.
Still, he understands that he and Brady may not be destined to skate together just yet.
“When the lights are bright and the stage is big, he performs at his best,” Matthew said. “I saw it firsthand. He was absolutely incredible and so fun and so easy to play with, and we read off each other well. He was a bull and just so fun to be out there with, so if it does happen, it's great, but I don't know. I think if you'd ask him, he'd rather play with Barky than me.”
To his credit, Maurice did acknowledge understanding that the hockey world wants to see the Tkachuk brothers skating together.
When news of the trade first came down, a popular concept was a forward line consisting of the Tkachuk brothers surrounding Sam Bennett, seemingly creating one of the most goon-ish lines in hockey.
Florida’s veteran head coach explained that has a good reason for keeping them apart, even if it was a little tongue-in-cheek.
“I don't want to give everybody what they want, with the two Tkachuk brothers together with Sam Bennett in the middle. They’ll be in jail before the puck drops,” Maurice said with a smile. “I'm going to wait on that one.”
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Feb 8, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) and Ottawa Senators left wing Brady Tkachuk (7) battle for the puck during the second period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
