Matthew Tkachuk isn’t hiding how much change is coming to the Florida Panthers.
On his Wingmen podcast with his brother Brady Tkachuk, the Panthers star said the departures of Sergei Bobrovsky, Evan Rodrigues and Jesper Boqvist will be felt, even as he welcomed the chance to reunite with Jacob Markstrom.
Tkachuk made it plain that Bobrovsky’s exit hits hardest. After Florida’s season-ending 8-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings in Sunrise, he had already called Bobrovsky the one player he hoped the Panthers would not lose. Months later, that’s exactly what happened: Florida tried to work out a new deal, then traded for Markstrom from the New Jersey Devils, while Bobrovsky left in free agency and signed a three-year, $21 million contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Tkachuk spent four seasons with Bobrovsky in South Florida, a stretch that included three straight trips to the Stanley Cup Final and championships in 2024 and 2025. He didn’t soften his view of the goalie’s importance.
“The backbone,’’ Tkachuk said of Bobrovsky. “Obviously, all of our lives have changed forever since the Cups.
Our lives would have been the exact same [because] we wouldn’t have won without him. He was the guy; the guy you relied on, the guy that if you … were playing bad, you knew he would be great.
“He kept us in so many games that we didn’t deserve to be in, and he won us a lot of games that we didn’t deserve to win. Just an outstanding teammate. … I’m going to miss him a ton.
“One of my favorite teammates, ever.’’
Rodrigues was another tough goodbye. Florida had signed him to a four-year deal in 2023, and he became one of the club’s quiet drivers during both Cup runs. To get Markstrom, the Panthers sent Rodrigues and Boqvist to New Jersey.
Tkachuk called Rodrigues “E-Rod” and praised the way he fit every role thrown his way.
“E-Rod? Both Finals, both playoff runs … he is such a Swiss Army knife,’’ Tkachuk said.
“Jersey is getting a good one. I was talking with Jack [Hughes] afterward, and I’m like ‘dude, you are going to love playing with this guy.’
I love playing with him. The performance he had in the Finals is the legit stuff of legends.
We are not winning the Cup without him. He was that good.
And, such a great guy, great family. Sad to see him go.”
Rodrigues is a free agent after this coming season, and Tkachuk said he already reached out.
“One of my first texts to him,’’ Tkachuk said, “was I really hope our paths cross again. I just love playing with him so much.’’
Boqvist also earned Tkachuk’s praise after arriving in 2024 and helping the Panthers in the playoffs off the bench.
Still, the biggest twist for Tkachuk is the one on the other side of the move: getting Markstrom back in his orbit. He said the emotions are split, but the excitement is real.
“Mixed emotions,’’ Tkachuk said. “You’re sad for a bit, but also happy that we get to play with Marky. I played with him in Calgary, and that last year, he was maybe the best goalie in the league.”
Tkachuk said he and Markstrom have already video chatted several times since the trade, and that the goalie is fitting right in with the team’s card games.
“Not your normal goalie,’’ Tkachuk said. “He’s a F-ing beauty.’’
In Other News...
Panthers Decision On Bobrovsky Suddenly Looks Far Riskier
The Panthers offseason reshaping in net already looked like a clear pivot away from Sergei Bobrovsky, with Florida bringing in Jacob Markstrom and Akira Schmid before free agency even settled in. That left Bobrovsky on the move, and the veteran goalie landed with the Maple Leafs after Toronto went through its own wave of organizational change, including new management and coaching additions.
What makes the decision feel riskier now is the simple fact that Florida chose not to keep pace once Bobrovskys market firmed up, preferring to move on rather than meet the price to retain a familiar presence. With Bobrovsky now in a new division and a new setting, the Panthers will be watching closely to see whether the crease they rebuilt can hold up against the same goalie they let walk. [Read more 🡒]
Inside The Panthers Plan To Protect Their Core During A Bold Gamble
Offer sheets sound simple on paper: identify a target, set the money, and wait to see whether another club blinks. But former Panthers assistant general manager Steve Werier said the real work goes well beyond the contract itself, because any team willing to go down that road has to think about how it protects its own roster at the same time. He pointed to the Panthers own history as a reminder that the strategy is never just about the player you are chasing, but also about the players you have to keep safe.
Werier referenced Floridas 2016 thinking around Tampa Bay winger Nikita Kucherov and said the broader lesson is that once a club gets a reputation for offer-sheet aggression, it can invite the same kind of pressure back. He also pointed to Carolina as an example of a team that has stayed active on that front while making sure its own young core is not left exposed, which is the sort of due diligence that happens long before an offer sheet is ever signed. [Read more 🡒]
Brady Tkachuk Is Headed For One Brutal Panthers Road Game
Brady Tkachuks move to Florida has already changed the balance of the Panthers lineup, but it also set up one of the most awkward road nights on next seasons calendar. The former Senators captain asked out in June, then landed with the Panthers to skate alongside his brother Matthew, and the return trip to Ottawa is shaping up as a test of how much patience a fan base can have for a star who forced his way elsewhere.
For Florida, it is just another reminder that the Tkachuk name carries plenty of baggage wherever it goes. The Panthers will benefit from the edge and energy Brady brings, but when the schedule sends him back to the place where his career started, the reception is expected to be anything but warm, and that kind of atmosphere can turn a routine road game into a storyline all its own. [Read more 🡒]