Former Blues first round pick won it in St. Louis in 2019, St. Louis native wins first for family rich in hockey, including father Keith, brother Brady; Mikkola also wins first, former member of hockey operations Jamie Kompon also part of Panthers victory
Matthew Tkachuk did something his father Keith Tkachuk couldn't do, but judging by dad's joyous tears for his son, he's perfectly content.
Matthew Tkachuk became the first member of the family to win the Stanley Cup when the Florida Panthers avoided near-disaster and were able to finish off the Edmonton Oilers, 2-1, in Game 7 of the championship series on Monday night at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla.
Keith Tkachuk, who is in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame and St. Louis Blues Hall of Fame, played 18 years (nine with the Blues) and 1,201 regular-season games (543 with the Blues) was in the Stanley Cup playoffs 13 times and could only make it as far as the second round twice (with the Blues in 2000-01 and 2001-02). He was in the stands with wife and Matthew's mom Chantal, son and Matthew's brother Brady Tkachuk, who is the captain of the Ottawa Senators, daughter and Matthew's sister Taryn and countless other relatives watching Matthew raise hockey's holy grail for the first time.
Tkachuk and the Panthers, who led the series 3-0 and were on the verge of a sweep, only to see Connor McDavid and the Oilers storm back to send it to a winner-take-all Game 7, finally crossed the finish like after losing against the Vegas Golden Knights in the Cup Final in 2023.
Matthew Tkachuk becomes the first member of the 2016 draft class that included six players selected St. Louis (five in the first round) to win the Stanley Cup. Tkachuk was chosen sixth by the Calgary Flames. Clayton Keller went seventh to the Arizona Coyotes, Logan Brown went 11th to the Senators, Luke Kunin went 15th to the Minnesota Wild, Trent Frederic went 29th to the Boston Bruins and Joseph Woll went in the third round (62nd) to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Blues ties on Monday included forward Vladimir Tarasenko, winning the Cup for the second time after lifting the chalice in 2019 with the Blues, helping them win the franchise's first Cup.
Tarasenko, who was traded away by the Blues to the New York Rangers along with defenseman Niko Mikkola, who won his first Cup on Monday, on Feb. 17, 2023, signed a one-year, $5 million contract to play with Brady Tkachuk and the Senators; he was traded to the Panthers on March 6.
Mikkola, who signed a free agent contract with the Panthers during free agency last summer, was a fifth-round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft and spent 3.5 seasons with the Blues.
And there's Panthers assistant coach Jamie Kompon, who spent nine seasons (1997-2006) with the Blues as video coach, strength and conditioning coach, assistant coach and scouting coordinator.
It was the first Stanley Cup in Panthers history and third for the state of Florida. The Tampa Bay Lightning won back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022.
