Matthew Tkachuk says he’s ready for the Battle of Florida after waging the Battle of Alberta for the first six years of his NHL career.
“I hate Edmonton, but I hate Tampa more now,” said Tkachuk, who was traded by the Calgary Flames to the Florida Panthers in a blockbuster deal on Friday night.
Tkachuk was introduced by the Panthers at a news conference on Monday, having signed an eight-year, $76 million contract extension. Florida acquired the 24-year-old forward and a conditional fourth-round draft pick for star forward Jonathan Huberdeau, defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, prospect Cole Schwindt and Florida’s lottery-protected first-round selection in the 2025 NHL draft.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have won two of the past three Stanley Cup championships and have eliminated the Panthers from the playoffs in two straight postseasons.
“I’m excited for those games,” Tkachuk said. “They’re the team to beat. It seems like for us we’re going to have to go through them at some point, so I’m excited for that challenge. They know what it takes to win, and were going to learn that.”
He goes from a hockey-wild city in Calgary to a market that has room to grow. As evidenced by his opening salvo against the Lightning, Tkachuk believes his personality could become a selling point for the franchise.
“I bring a certain swagger that will really help this team [on the ice]. Off ice, I have the same personality,” Tkachuk said. “I’m excited for the chance to grow the game down here. I hope that in a few years, nobody on the team can walk outside without somebody saying something to them, like how it is in some of the other places around the league. I have a good confidence. It’s not a cockiness. I think some of these teams in this conference that have had success have that. The team on the other end of the state has that.”
Panthers general manager Bill Zito compared Tkachuk to both a unicorn — “Don’t take that too seriously,” he cautioned his newest player — and the character Jimmy…
Source : espn
