Florida Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk says the team never lost confidence before defeating the ... [+]
Florida Panthers star winger and alternate captain Matthew Tkachuk is still riding high after the team’s first Stanley Cup win.
Although it’s been more than two weeks since the Panthers defeated the Edmonton Oilers in an epic Game 7 at home, Tkachuk still feels the emotions from winning his first cup.
“It's the most amazing feeling,” says Tkachuk in a one-on-one interview. “Just seeing what the Stanley Cup means to so many people, how people react around it, just being a champion and people coming up to me, it's actually pretty cool.”
What makes the Cup win even sweeter is that the Panthers not only did it at home, but they accomplished it in Game 7. The win was even more more dramatic because Florida nearly blew a 3-0 series lead after dropping three straight against Edmonton. The Panthers were outscored 18-5 in their three defeats and some observers believed their chances of winning Game 7 were bleak.
However, Tkachuk makes sure to stress that he and the rest of the team were never concerned.
“For sure,” says Tkachuk of the team’s confidence without hesitation. “We were so confident heading into Game 7, because we were coming home.”
The two-time All-Star winger doubled down on why the Panthers were so confident heading into Game 7 at home at Amerant Bank Arena.
“We were such a great team all year and at the end of the day, winning the Stanley Cup shouldn't be easy,” says Tkachuk. “Winning it in four would have been awesome. But it's probably not how it should have been. It was always us in seven. That's what we've been saying. Doesn't matter how we got there, but going into Game 7, we were very, very comfortable.”
Tkachuk comes from the definition of a hockey family. His father, Keith, is one of the top American players in NHL history and was one of the most well-respected forwards of his generation. Keith was a five-time All-Star and is one of five American-born players to score 500 goals. Furthermore, his brother Brady is a physical forward himself who has already been to four All-Star games by the age of 24.
Matthew reveals the advice his dad gave him heading into a pressure-packed Game 7. Had the Panthers lost, they would have been just the second team in NHL history and the first since the 1942 Detroit Red Wings to blow a 3-0 series lead in the Stanley Cup Finals.
“Go out and make a difference,” says Tkachuk of the advice his dad gave him before the game. “Enjoy this moment. Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, this is what you dream about. It's exactly what you've dreamt about your whole life. I thought having him and my brother walk out to the car was a really cool moment.”
South Florida has historically been known as a football area, with top high school recruits often coming out of the pipeline. Furthermore, the local sports fan base grew up rooting for the Miami Dolphins and the Miami Heat.
However, in recent years, the Panthers have become the cream of the crop when it comes to sports in the South Florida region. Florida completed their second consecutive Stanley Cup Finals appearance and had finished with the most points of any NHL team during the 2021-22 season. In other words, the Panthers have been an elite NHL squad over the past three seasons.
It’s all coincided with the arrival of Tkachuk, who was acquired by the Panthers in an offseason trade with the Calgary Flames just prior to the start of the 2022-23 season. It was Tkachuk’s arrival that helped the team get over the hump in his first season and win their first playoff series since 1996.
He explains the major difference between the team that lost to the Golden Knights in five games in the 2023 Finals and the one that finished the job against the Oilers.
“We knew what it took to get there, but we didn't know what it took to win,” says Tkachuk. “And this year, we wanted to change it all. So we went to the Finals again — we were not satisfied. We were going there to win it all. The previous year taught us a lot.”
Tkachuk attributes the “depth” of the 2023-24 squad as a major reason for why the Panthers were able to prevail and win the Cup this time around.
“I think that our depth this year — that's how we got to the playoffs — and that's how we ended up winning it all,” says Tkachuk. “We had so many guys play just so solid. It was a full team effort. I felt like the year before, we were kind of just a bunch of bad boys riding the wave to the Finals.”
The eight-year veteran explains how the Panthers’ mindset grew compared to the previous season, when they made a surprising run to the Stanley Cup Finals after barely squeaking in as an eighth seed.
“This year we were just business-like, team effort,” says Tkachuk. “Never got too high, never got too low, just enjoyed the moment, but really played a calm, cool, collected game.”
The 26-year-old is actually preparing to play in the prestigious 35th American Century Championship at Edgewood Tahoe Golf course. The tournament will begin on Friday and extend through Sunday with a $750,000 purse, with $150,000 to the winner. There will also be a charity component for local and national non-profits.
It’s considered the biggest of the annual celebrity golf tournaments — 90 celebrities will be involved — and will feature a number of athletes — former and current — along with famous entertainers The 54-hole tournament features Tony Romo, Aaron Rodgers, Travis Kelce, Charles Barkley and Ray Romano.
“Last night (on Wednesday) some of the athletes were coming up to me and were saying ‘cheers, champ,’” says Tkachuk, while speaking from the golf course. “Like ‘we were watching Game 7 and we were watching this.’ “There wasn't really many other sports on towards the end of the Finals. Just seeing how everybody reacts to winning the Stanley Cup, being a champion and that Stanley Cup — when it's brought into the room — it changes everything.”
Tkachuk admits that he’s not a great golfer. He “loves” golf and tries to play as much as he can during his off days — he doesn’t do so when the playoffs come around — but he says he’s heard former Dallas Stars veteran Joe Pavelski is the best of the NHL players in the tournament. Washington Capitals players John Carlson and T.J. Oshie will also participate in the tournament.
This will also be the first time Tkachuk is participating in this tournament. He enters with 300-to-1 odds of winning, with 42 celebrities entering with lower odds than the Panthers star.
While Tkachuk will concentrate on trying to excel on the golf course this upcoming weekend, his sight and focus remains on winning another Stanley Cup. He’s not satisfied with just one.
“Once you win it, you want to win it again,” says Tkachuk without hesitation. “So that's the goal.”
