FORT LAUDERDALE – The Florida Panthers will be without forwards Matthew Tkachuk and Tomas Nosek when they kick off their 2025-26 season, President of Hockey Operations & General Manager Bill Zito announced on media day at Baptist Health IcePlex on Wednesday.
Both players had offseason surgery and are expected to miss extended periods of time.
“Anticipate him (Tkachuk) being out until December-ish,” Zito said of Tkachuk.
“Months, for sure,” he said of Nosek.
Helping the Panthers win back-to-back Stanley Cups, Tkachuk’s 23 points (8 goals, 15 assists) tied for the team lead alongside Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe during last year’s playoffs.
In the regular season, Tkachuk, easily one of the most-recognizable faces in the NHL, notched 57 points in 52 games, ranking third on Florida in goals (22), assists (35) and points (57).
When asked about Tkachuk’s recovery timetable, Zito compared the process to a long road trip, with checkpoints needing to be hit along the way in order to make it to a destination on time.
While the hope is a return in December, the situation remains fluid.
“If you pass the first month threshold, there’s a new one,” Zito said.
A key cog on the fourth line, Nosek registered nine points (1 goal, 8 assists) in 59 regular-season games and also dished out three assists in 16 postseason games.
With training camp set to get underway, the Panthers, who can become the first team to win three straight Stanley Cups since the New York Islanders won four in a row in the ‘80s, will be looking for other players to step up and fill the voids left by Tkachuk and Nosek in the lineup.
“Everyone in the room just needs to step up a little bit more,” captain Aleksander Barkov said. “Play better and be better.”
For updates throughout camp, stay tuned to FloridaPanthers.com.
Hockey News