Head coach Paul Maurice reveals an interesting tactical decision, potentially splitting the Tkachuk brothers to pair the new superstar acquisition with Florida captain Sasha Barkov this season.
The NHL Draft is currently taking place in Buffalo and the Florida Panthers are expected to be much busier on day two than they were for Friday’s opening round.
Despite having included their two first-round selections earlier in the week in a trade for star forward Brady Tkachuk, the Panthers still held their annual draft party at the team’s practice facility in Fort Lauderdale.
Nobody seemed to mind that Florida did not make any picks during round one.
By all accounts, fans in attendance had a great time celebrating what is expected to be a return to Stanley Cup contention for perhaps the team’s most talented collection of players yet.
They also had a chance to visit with several members of the team, including Sam Reinhart, Aaron Ekblad and Panthers General Manager Bill Zito.
Also there was Florida Head Coach Paul Maurice, and while catching up with Florida Hockey Now’s George Richards, divulged an interesting piece of information about how we could see some of the team’s forward lines deployed when next season arrives.
Maurice said that contrary to popular option, we could see Tkachuk on a line with Panthers captain Sasha Barkov and Sam Reinhart instead of sharing the ice with his older brother, Matthew.
Now anyone who has followed the Panthers under Maurice knows that he’ll constantly try out different lines during the regular season, whether it be for injury reasons or to simply see which players perform well when paired up with others, something that he’s said comes in handy during the postseason, when matchups can prove to be key during a seven-game series.
Still, it’s interesting that Maurice would be cool with sharing that kind of information just days after acquiring the player and with training camp still several months away.
If nothing else, it gives us something to talk about in the meantime.
What do you think would be the ideal line for Brady with the Panthers? Let us know in the comments below.
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Photo caption: Feb 3, 2023; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Ottawa Senators left wing Brady Tkachuk (left) and Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (right) dress in beach outfits during the 2023 NHL All-Star Skills Competition at FLA Live Arena. (Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images)
