‘It’s just flying by’: Florida Panthers’ Matthew Tkachuk reflects on 600 career games

It’s worth remembering sometimes that Matthew Tkachuk, who is in his ninth NHL season, doesn’t turn 27 for another month.

The Florida Panthers fan favorite who has provided a needed jolt to the organization ever since his arrival ahead of the 2022-23 season got a reminder of just how long he’s been playing in the league already this weekend.

On Saturday, when the Panthers beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 in a shootout, Tkachuk played in his 600th career regular-season NHL game.

“It’s crazy,” Tkachuk said ahead of the game. “I don’t even feel like I’m even close to hitting my prime yet. I’m at 600 [games] right now and it’s just flying by. I’m 26 years old. For me to hit this at this age I think is a very cool accomplishment. It just makes you reflect when you hit something like how fast time has gone and how many great players I’ve been able to play with.”

Tkachuk has logged 589 points (222 goals, 367 assists) so far in his career. That’s the 12th-most among U.S.-born NHL players through 600 games played.

He already has 207 points in 169 games with Florida, scoring 70 goals and adding another 137 assists. He has 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 10 games this season.

But his value extends beyond the scoresheet.

Ever since Florida acquired him in the blockbuster trade with the Calgary Flames before the 2022-23 season, Tkachuk became an instant leader in the Panthers’ dressing room. His boisterous, outgoing personality formed a perfect yin-and-yang with Florida captain Aleksander Barkov. His ability to get under opponents’ skin added a dimension of physicality, grit and toughness the team lacked before his arrival.

The results have been evident ever since.

He posted a career-high 109 points in his first season and added another 24 points, including 11 goals and four game-winners, in the playoffs as Florida made it to the Stanley. Cup Final for just the second time in franchise history. The Panthers lost the series in five games to the Vegas Golden Knights, with Tkachuk missing the final game due to a fractured sternum sustained in Game 3 when he absorbed an open-ice hit from Vegas’ Keegan Kolesar.

Tkachuk’s pure numbers dipped last season, logging just 88 points (26 goals, 62 assists), but he stepped up in the playoffs with a team-high 16 assists and team-high-tying 22 points as Florida returned to the Cup Final and ultimately won it all for the first time by beating the Edmonton Oilers in seven games.

More milestones

▪ Sam Bennett’s goal in the second period against Philadelphia on Saturday was his 300th career point. Of those 300 points, 160 (79 goals, 81 assists) have come in his 228 games with the Panthers since being acquired in a trade with Calgary during the 2020-21 season. Bennett had just 140 total points (67 goals, 73 assists) in 402 games with the Flames.

▪ With the shootout win on Saturday, Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky now has 404 career wins in net. That moves him to 12th all-time in NHL history, passing Grant Fuhr. Next on the list: Glenn Hall, who has 407 wins. Should Bobrovsky get 20 more wins this season, he will pass Tony Esposito for 10th all-time in league history.

The week ahead

The Panthers (11-3-1), riding a seven-game win streak, play three more games at home this week. They host the New Jersey Devils (10-6-2) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and 7 p.m. Thursday before wrapping up the five-game homestand against the Winnipeg Jets at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Florida has outscored its opponents 33-17 over the course of the win streak.

‘Do they bleep you?’

EA Sports’ NHL 25 had a major update last week.

The video game now includes all 32 of the league’s head coaches “along with their unique personalities and strategies they employ in the real world.”

Panthers coach Paul Maurice, however, was a bit skeptical.

“Do they bleep you?” Maurice asked. “Do you move up and down the bench and scream profanities. Is there volume?”

Sorry, coach. No volume on the coaches.

“That’s hardly realistic,” Maurice said.

Maurice did go on to say that he appreciates that coaches are getting their due in the video game even though it’s highly unlikely he’ll be playing it himself any time soon.

“The last video game I played was Mario Kart 19 years ago,” Maurice said. “My kids were somewhere between 6 and 9 and they destroyed me, and I think it was the finest day they ever had. They laughed and they enjoyed the savage beating I took. They mocked me, I think they backed their cars up over me. I think it was the most enjoyable humiliation I’ve ever had.”