FORT LAUDERDALE – Matthew Tkachuk has reached another checkpoint.
Traversing the long road to recovery following offseason surgery to repair a torn adductor muscle and sports hernia in August, the Florida Panthers superstar forward announced on Wednesday that he’s finally returned to the ice and begun the skating portion of his rehab.
“Low and slow, low and slow, striding it out,” Tkachuk told his brother, Brady, of his first skate on the latest episode of the "Wingmen" podcast, which they co-host together. “This was the first time I’ve put on my skates, like legit, since Game 6 [of the Stanley Cup Final].”
Suffering the injury while suiting up for the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, Tkachuk missed the final 25 games of the regular season before returning to action in the playoffs and helping the Panthers win their second straight Stanley Cup.
Despite the injury, he racked up 23 points (8G, 15A) in 23 playoff games.
"I've just got to get the jets on and start feeling good, and I think I'll be hopefully picking up where I left off, if not hopefully better," Tkachuk said confidently. "That's the ideal plan."
But even with Tkachuk back on the ice, it doesn’t mean he’s ready to start banging bodies.
According to head coach Paul Maurice, the plan is for Tkachuk to alternate between days on the ice and off the ice as he works to get both his body and conditioning back up to speed. After he’s cleared that hurdle, they’ll then have him spend two days on the ice for every one day off the ice.
This will continue until he’s “almost at full tilt” and can rejoin his teammates for practice.
"He's still quite a ways away, but he's back on the ice and he wasn't two weeks ago," Maurice said. "So, we’ll take it.”
As the Panthers continue their push for a third straight Cup, Tkachuk is expected to be the first of a long list of important injured players to return to the lineup from a serious injury.
As it stands now, Aleksander Barkov (knee), Tomas Nosek (knee), Jonah Gadjovich (upper body), Cole Schwindt (arm) and Dmitry Kulikov (shoulder) are all still out multiple months.
But even with so many pieces missing, the Panthers (12-9-1) enter Wednesday’s slate of games sitting just three points out of first place in the jam-packed Atlantic Division.
"I'm just excited to get out with the boys," Tkachuk said.
Stay tuned for more updates from FloridaPanthers.com in the coming weeks.
