The Florida Panthers acquired forward Matthew Tkachuk in a blockbuster deal from the Calgary Flames on Friday night, then quickly signed him to an eight-year extension. The deal is worth $76 million, a source told The Athletic.
The Flames also sent a conditional fourth-round pick to the Panthers. In return, Calgary acquired left wing Jonathan Huberdeau, defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, center Cole Schwindt and a conditional 2025 first-round pick.
Calgary filed for arbitration with Tkachuk in mid-July. But he informed the team he would not re-sign to a long-term contract, The Athletic reported Wednesday. Last season, Tkachuk set career highs with 42 goals, 62 assists and 104 points. He also averaged 17:54 of ice time and was a plus-57.
A source close to the situation had previously said that Tkachuk’s list of preferred destinations at one point had the St. Louis Blues, Vegas Golden Knights, Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars for months, though that may not have been the official roster. gave to Calgary. The New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers were also among the other teams that expressed interest in the past.
Read our business ratings on the deal here.
Here’s everything you need to know about the situation:
Why did Tkachuk want out of Calgary?
It’s probably a combination of things, but it would certainly start with Johnny Gaudreau leaving as a free agent last week. Tkachuk spent most of the early part of his career playing left on the second line, mostly alongside Mikael Backlund, because Gaudreau played left on the first line, mostly alongside Sean Monahan .
Last season, almost from start to finish, Calgary coach Darryl Sutter switched Tkachuk to right wing on the top line, using the theory of putting all your scoring eggs in one basket. it has worked Largely because Gaudreau created so many openings with his speed and vision, Tkachuk had a career year, and many analysts considered that top line, centered by Elias Lindholm, to be the best line in the NHL. Without Gaudreau there, the appetite to play Calgary long-term was greatly diminished.
Then there’s the Canadian dilemma: More and more, teams like Calgary seem to end up on a no-trade list, which is concerning. In part, this could be a function of playing in an older building. In part, this may be the scrutiny of playing in a Canadian market. And in part, that could be the fear of playing for a demanding, old-school coach like Sutter. But once a player weighs up all the pros and cons of playing in Calgary, he may decide he’d rather be somewhere else.
Did the Flames get a good return for Tkachuk?
Calgary was in a tough position here, not only because they were trading an All-Star wing in Tkachuk, but because they had no leverage. Teams knew the Flames had to move Tkachuk, who told Calgary he wasn’t staying long-term. Teams also knew that if they got Tkachuk, it would be because he wanted to be there.
Despite all that, Calgary did very well here. Of course, both Huberdeau and Weegar have a year left before their UFA, but bringing them in will help the Flames minimize the damage caused by losing Tkachuk (and Gaudreau) and give the club a chance to build on their excellent slow season 2021-22 and give them. at least one more year to try to fight. It’s a tidy job for general manager Brad Treliving, to say the least.
Why the St. Louis Blues didn’t get Tkachuk?
The Blues weren’t a lock to land Tkachuk, but he looked promising. Ultimately, Florida put together a better package than Blues general manager Doug Armstrong could probably put together. Jordan Kyrou, of St. Louis, has talent, but his 75 points last season didn’t match Huberdeau’s 115, and the Blues didn’t offer a defenseman like Weegar, who finished eighth in Norris Trophy voting two years ago.
Those are a couple of reasons why Tkachuk isn’t blue, along with the fact that they probably had a hard time clearing salary cap space. The club have 10 players with some sort of no-trade clause, and that was probably a challenge to deal with. It would have been a nice fit and a wonderful story for Tkachuk to follow in his father’s footsteps in St. Louis, but in the end, Florida won the toss with a massive package.
Why Florida traded for Tkachuk
The immediate justification? “Matthew Tkachuk is the best player involved in the deal.” And there’s certainly something to be said for that; Tkachuk is a rare combination of skill, size and skating, and he wanted to be in a place like Florida. There’s nothing he doesn’t like about being a hockey player. That doesn’t justify the price, though: Huberdeau was just a Hart finalist, and Weegar is a higher-paid defenseman.
The problem for Florida, though, is that they would likely have trouble signing both next summer. It might also seem like the logic is gone, packing them in for eight years of Tkachuk. I’m not sure I agree with that, but I get it.
What the extension means for Florida’s future
In the short term, it means Florida will have to send salary and/or place Anthony Duclair on long-term injured reserve to start the season, then patch things up when he returns from his Achilles injury. Long term, it locks them into a core of elite center Aleksander Barkov ($10M AAV through 2030), elite defenseman Aaron Ekblad ($7.5M through 2026), Tkachuk and, uh , goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky ($10 million through 2026). Pretty good.
It’s also worth saying that if the Panthers lost the trade, it had nothing to do with Tkachuk’s extension. Having him at this number for so long is a steal.
Why did the Flames decide to take Tkachuk to arbitration?
The team said in a tweet that going to arbitration gives Calgary “an opportunity to continue working with (Tkachuk’s) representatives on a contract resolution while eliminating the possibility of a sheet offer”. Basically, it would have given the Flames more time to negotiate a long-term deal with him, or possibly find a trade partner for him before the arbitration period if it got to that point. We provided an in-depth explanation of why the Flames would opt to go to arbitration with the 24-year-old.
What impact did Tkachuk have on the Flames?
Losing Gaudreau already hurt the Flames. Losing Tkachuk that same summer might have been seen as a nail in the coffin for the team’s Cup aspirations, but the Flames may still be in the mix for the playoffs thanks to the return of the trade, along with their depth .
Tkachuk is a unicorn in this league, an extremely rare mix of skill and grunt, finesse and grit, scoring and passing, offense and defense. He really can do it all and is currently in the prime of his career as one of the most valuable players in the league. This is a guy who scored 42 goals and 104 points last year while driving the game to an elite level on both ends of the ice. Tkachuk is a superstar.
Matthew Tkachuk is a unicorn. All teams should be in it. pic.twitter.com/vqDmaOhwid
— home (@domluszczyszyn) July 20, 2022
By the numbers, he’s projected to be worth 4.4 wins, which is behind a handful of players in the league: Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Brad Marchand, Mitch Marner, Cale Makar, Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews. This is an elite winger who is a five-on-five force between his ball play, deft hands and positive defensive impact.
Tkachuk anticipates staying at this high level for quite some time. Over the next seven seasons, he is expected to be worth 26 wins. The only question about his impact moving forward is how he will manage without his elite teammate, Gaudreau. Calgary is already recovering from that, so losing both of their game-changing tight ends would be absolutely devastating, especially since they don’t have another tight end that comes close to that pairing.
(Photo by Matthew Tkachuk: Candice Ward/USA Today)