Following a franchise-altering roster shakeup, Florida's superstar forward pays tribute to the instrumental role his departing teammates played in the Panthers' legendary runs to the Stanley Cup.
The Florida Panthers are going to look a little different when they hit the ice next season.
Over the past several weeks, Florida has seen some turnover on its roster, between trades and free agent signings.
One of the biggest moves made by Panthers General Manager Bill Zito was trading for goaltender Jacob Markstrom and forward Angus Crookshank from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Evan Rodrigues, Jesper Boqvist and Ben Steeves.
It was a massive deal for the Panthers, who were essentially signifying the end to their run with now-former goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.
Bob ended up signing a 3-year, $21 million deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs a day later.
With the dust having settled following a busy few days around the league, Panthers star forward Matthew Tkachuk went on his Wingmen podcast that he hosts with his brother Brady and spoke about several of the Florida players who were no longer on the team.
“Guys that have had such a huge impact on my career and my team in Florida,” Tkachuk said of his now-former teammates. “Champions forever, we’ll walk together forever.”
Earlier this week, we touched on what Tkachuk had to say about his former goaltender, Sergei Bobrovsky.
During the same episode, Tkachuk also gave some love to the newest Devils, Rodrigues and Boqvist.
“E-Rod, both Finals, both playoff runs, honestly, all the time, he’s such a Swiss Army knife,” Tkachuk said. “New Jersey is getting a good one.”
Tkachuk went on to say that after the trade, he spoke to Devils’ star forward Jack Hughes about the player they were getting.
“’Dude, you’re going to love playing with this guy. He’s awesome. I loved playing with him,’” he said. “His performance that he had during the Finals was legit stuff of legends. We are not winning the Cup without him. He was that good.”
Rodrigues was a player who, on any given night, could find himself on any of Florida’s four lines and yet would still give the same, full-hearted effort every single shift.
His consistency spread beyond just the ice. If there was one thing you could count on when walking into a post-practice Panthers locker room, it was Rodrigues being there with a big, fat smile on his face.
“Such a great guy with such an amazing family,” said Tkachuk. “I’m really, really sad to see him go. One of my first texts to him after was like, ‘I really hope our paths can cross again at some point.’ I just loved playing with him so much. Just such a great guy, great culture guy, a guy who Jersey is going to have a ton of success because of a guy like him coming.”
When speaking about Boqvist, Tkachuk was quick to remember a pair of playoff games where he was blown away by his now former teammate’s performance.
“It’s not an easy job, what he did last year (during the 2025 Stanley Cup run),” Tkachuk began. “I remember two games in particular where he was out the game before, and then came in. He was our best player in Game 5 against Toronto. E-Rod actually got hurt, Bokie comes in, goes right up there with Reino and Barky – and that’s gotta be hard; you haven’t played in a while and you come right in to the first line, playing the big minutes – and he scored a huge goal against Toronto and was just unreal that game.”
It's a common trait among Panthers players over the past several years, as many have stepped up during the postseason and helped the team reach its ultimate goal.
Whether you’re a Tkachuk or a Barkov that plays big minutes, or a Rodrigues or Boqvist who have to remain ready for any situation at any time, Florida has cultivated a culture that allows players to become the best versions of themselves when skating in the biggest games of their lives.
“I just can’t believe you’re able to play that well with not playing the last few, and its playoff hockey, Game 5 in a tough building,” Tkachuk continued on Boqvist. “And then he did the same thing in Game 3 against Carolina. He scored probably one of the nicest goals of the playoffs for our team at home. Just an unbelievable player, a workhorse, another culture guy. I’m just sad to see him go, another great guy and a great player.”
You can listen to Tkachuk’s full comments on Florida’s additions and subtractions in the video below:
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Photo caption: Oct 9, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola (77) speaks to center Evan Rodrigues (17) and center Jesper Boqvist (70) against the Philadelphia Flyers during the second period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
