Nobody would have thought that Matthew Tkachuk was playing the entire 2025 Play-offs with an injury, that too a torn adductor muscle and sports hernia problem. “I wanted to throw in the towel a bunch of times,” the Panthers forward shared after the Stanley Cup win. Instead, he decided to push through it, with support from his trainers, his wife, and some strong painkillers.

The offseason has been rife with speculation regarding Tkachuk’s recovery. Surgery is on the cards, although when it would happen would dictate the timeline of his return to ice. Amidst all the conjecture, one Sportsnet reporter has shared how he thinks it will play out. And being a veteran in the sport, it warrants that we hear what he has to say.

The esteemed reporter we are talking about is Elliotte Friedman. He was discussing with his co-host, Kyle Bukauskas, the Matthew Tkachuk scenario on their 32 Thoughts podcast on August 3. “I think we’re gonna find out at some point here that Tkachuk will miss the start of the season,” said Friedman. And he continued, “I think he’ll be back in time for the Olympics. Obviously, that’s a huge deal for him, and it was always going to be set up that way.”

The 2026 Winter Olympics will be held at Milano-Cortina from February 6 to 22. For Tkachuk to be back and fully cleared for the Olympics would mean that the Panthers’ alternate captain would be back on ice around Christmas. Which means the Panthers may have to play a good few months at the beginning of the season without their star forward. And that’s what the veteran reporter also went for: “I think he’s going to miss a start of the year and a chunk of time after that. I don’t know what the timeline’s going to be, but um, it’s going to be something like that.”

It was speculated before, too, that Tkachuk could stay sidelined through the Christmas break. But with his wedding postponing the surgery, there have been certain concerns about his prompt return to play, and more importantly, his Olympic participation.

Busy offseason and concerns about Matthew Tkachuk’s Olympic participation

The news of his injury was doing the rounds. Tkachuk had confirmed that an ultimatum was to be made. “I’ve got to go through some steps here and then see if I need surgery or not. It’s going to take a few weeks to determine if I need it.” But since then, all these have taken a backseat, courtesy of the forward’s big day. He recently got married to Ellie Connell on July 19.

And there starts a domino effect, which was shared by NHL insider Evan Renaerts on X – “Matthew Tkachuk has not yet undergone the surgery … As was with Evander Kane last year, this late summer surgery means he will miss significant time this coming season on LTIR”. The sooner he returns, the more ready he will be to help the USA in their Gold hunt. So, the delay is not ideal if you are a USA fan.

But that’s one aspect. The 27-year-old’s injury scenario would have a bearing on the Panthers’ salary cap. A lengthy LTIR might help the Stanley Cup holders retain Evan Rodrigues. The Cats are currently $3 million over their cap limit. And Tkachuk’s LTIR would open up a cap space of $9.5 million. So, a lot of cogs interlocked with one another, and it’s awaiting one decision from Matthew Tkachuk.