The Florida Panthers acquired forward Matthew Tkachuk in a blockbuster trade with the Calgary Flames on Friday night, then promptly 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 Wigar, center Cole Schwind 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 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 previously said Tkachuk’s list of preferred destinations at one point included the St. Louis Blues, Vegas Golden Knights, Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars for months, though that may not be the official list he gave Calgary. The New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers were also among the other teams that expressed interest in the past.
Read our trade reviews for the deal here.
Here’s everything you need to know about the situation:
Why did Tkachuk want to leave Calgary?
It’s probably a combination of things, but it will no doubt start with Johnny Gaudreau’s departure as a free agent last week. Tkachuk spent most of his early career as a left winger on the second line, mostly alongside Mikael Backlund, because Gaudreau played left winger on the first line, mostly alongside Sean Monahan.
Last season, almost from start to finish, Calgary coach Daryl Sutter moved Tkachuk to right wing on the top line using the all-eggs-in-one-basket theory. It worked. In large part because Gaudreau created so many openings with his speed and vision, Tkachuk had a career year, and many analysts consider this Elias Lindholm-centered top line to be the best line in the NHL. Without Gaudreau there, the appetite to play in Calgary long-term was greatly diminished.
Then there’s the Canadian predicament: More and more, it looks like teams like Calgary are falling on the no-trade list, which is troubling. In part, this may be a function of playing in an older building. In part, this may be the game’s validation in the Canadian market. And part of that might 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 might just decide he’d rather be somewhere else.
Did the Flames return well for Tkachuk?
Calgary was in a tough spot here, not only because they traded an All-Star wing in Tkachuk, but also because they lacked impact. Teams knew the Flames had to move Tkachuk, who told Calgary he wouldn’t be around long-term. Teams also knew that if they were to get Tkachuk, it would be because he wanted to be there.
Despite all that, Calgary did very well here. Granted, both Huberdeau and Wigar have a year left before UFA — but bringing them in would help the Flames minimize the damage done by losing Tkachuk (and Gaudreau) and give the club a chance to build on its excellent 2021 season 22 and give them at least another year to try to fight. It’s a neat job for general manager Brad Treliving, to say the least.
Why didn’t the St. Louis Blues take Tkachuk?
The Blues weren’t a lock to land Tkachuk, but it looked promising. In the end, Florida put together a better package than Blues general manager Doug Armstrong could possibly put together. St. Louis’ Jordan Kyrou is talented, but his 75 points last season didn’t match Huberdeau’s 115, and the Blues didn’t offer a defenseman like Wieger, who finished eighth in Norris Trophy voting two years ago.
Those are a few reasons why Tkachuk isn’t a Blue, along with the fact that they likely had a tough time clearing salary cap space. The club have 10 players with some form of no-trade clause and this has likely presented a challenge as to who can be dealt. It would have been a great fit and a wonderful story for Tkachuk to follow in his father’s footsteps in St. Louis, but Florida ended up winning the lottery with a huge 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 I don’t like about him as a hockey player. That doesn’t justify the price, though — Huberdeau was just a Hart finalist, and Weegar is the highest-paid defenseman.
The problem for Florida, though, is that they would likely have trouble signing both of them next summer. You might as well, the logic seems to have disappeared, package them together for eight years of Tkachuk. I’m not sure I agree with that, but I get it.
What the expansion means for Florida’s future
In the short term, that means Florida will need to send some 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. Longer term, it locks them into a core of elite center Alexander Barkov ($10M AAV through 2030), elite defenseman Aaron Ekblad ($7.5M through 2026), Tkachuk and, uh, goaltender Sergey Bobrovsky ($10 million by 2026). Very good.
It’s also worth saying that if the Panthers lose the deal, it has nothing to do with Tkachuk’s extension. Keeping him at that number for so long is stealing.
Why did the Flames choose to subject Tkachuk to arbitration?
The team said via tweet that going to arbitration gives Calgary “the opportunity to continue to work with (Tkachuk’s) representatives on a contract resolution while removing the possibility of an offer sheet.” Essentially, this 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 came to that point. We provided an in-depth explanation of why the Flames would choose to go to arbitration with the 24-year-old.
How big is Tkachuk’s impact on the Flames?
The loss of Gaudreau already stung for the Flames. Losing Tkachuk that same summer could be seen as the nail in the coffin for the team’s bowl-contending aspirations, but the Flames may still be in the playoff mix thanks to trade returns along with their depth.
Tkachuk is a unicorn in this league, an extremely rare combination of skill and snarl, finesse and guts, 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 elevating the game to an elite level on both ends of the ice. Tkachuk is a superstar.
Matthew Tkachuk is a unicorn. Every single team has to fight him. pic.twitter.com/vqDmaOhwid
— dom (@domluszczyszyn) July 20, 2022
By the numbers, he’s projected to be worth 4.4 wins, trailing only a handful of players in the league: Nathan McKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Brad Marchand, Mitch Marner, Cale Makar, Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews. This is an elite winger who is a five-on-five strength between his playmaking, skilled hands and positive impact on defense.
Tkachuk plans to stay at such a high level for quite some time. Over the next seven seasons, he is projected to have 26 wins. The only question about his impact going forward is how he will fare without his elite teammate, Gaudreau. Calgary is already reeling from this, so losing both of their game-changing wings would be absolutely devastating — especially since they don’t have any other wings that measure up anywhere near that pair.
(Matthew Tkachuk Photo: Candice Ward/USA Today)
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