Matthew Tkachuk writes himself into record books in Florida!

Matthew Tkachuk wanted to make sure his arrival in Florida didn’t go unnoticed. After some doubted the mega trade that sent Tkachuk from the Calgary Flames to the Panthers in return for star forward Jonathan Huberdeau and top-pairing defenseman MacKenzie Weegar - especially when Florida lost Aaron Ekblad to injury - the new forward in Miami is making sure he is producing for his team.

And he has ever since the 2022-23 season started, and on Friday night, in a game against the state rival Tampa Bay Lightning, Tkachuk wrote his name into the record books the Panthers by becoming the first player in franchise history to record at least one point in each of Florida’s first five games to start a season.

Fans have to be thrilled the Panthers brought the money on the table and signed him to an eight-year deal worth $9.5 million annually.

So far in five games this season, Tkachuk has posted three goals and seven points and it just looks like he wants more. Last year with the Flames, before he demanded a trade out seeing that he would not sign long-term in Calgary, he had recorded 42 goals and 104 points in 82 games, adding four goals and 10 points in 12 playoff contests. 

Tkachuk is thriving in Florida and is sending a message across the league that the move only fuelled him to get his game to the next level.