On this day two years ago, the Florida Panthers woke up a sleepy summer offseason with a late night blockbuster trade in acquiring Matthew Tkachuk.
Making a trade of this caliber, announced around 11 p.m. on a Friday night, may have been construed as the ultimate ‘news dump.’
There have been no negatives for the Panthers thus far.
Although there was plenty of handwringing that general manager Bill Zito gave up too much — franchise scoring leader Jonathan Huberdeau, top defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, a lottery protected first-round pick, and prospect Cole Schwindt went to Calgary — the trade has paid off since Day 1.
Tkachuk negotiated a new eight-year contract with the Panthers while still with the Flames, making him the first player involved in a sign-and-trade in NHL history.
Florida not only landed a star player entering the prime of his career, but also got the type of player it needed to take the next step.
Since arriving in South Florida, Tkachuk has: Two of his top three statistical seasons, an NHL All-Star MVP award, two trips to the Stanley Cup Final, and a Stanley Cup championship.
Tkachuk has also become one of the most recognizable athletes not only in South Florida, but in sports.
“The support around here has been amazing,’’ Tkachuk said before Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final against his old rivals from his Calgary days, the Edmonton Oilers.
“It keeps growing, almost daily from when I first started playing in the NHL for Calgary, coming here in 2016, it’s night and day from what it is right now.
“You see the success the team’s having and it’s only helping everybody in the community. So many people are into hockey, people are coming up to us left and right in Fort Lauderdale.
“I’ve been in West Palm and Miami the past week and both places, both sides of it are just so excited. People are talking about hockey everywhere in South Florida.”
Matthew Tkachuk has helped spur that along.
Since the Panthers won the Stanley Cup last month, Tkachuk famously took it for a dip in the Atlantic, led the championship parade down A1A, and spent a couple days with it in his hometown of St. Louis.
The Panthers could only dream of this kind of success when news of the trade woke up a sleepy offseason two years ago.
“It’s special for me and I take great pride in it in being a real good ambassador for hockey down here,’’ Tkachuk said recently.
“You see the support, for myself and the team, not only since winning but the whole two years I have been here. It has been incredible.”
