Can Matthew Tkachuk will the Panthers into the playoffs?
TORONTO — Matthew Tkachuk expected this season would be different.
New team. New conference. New lifestyle, even.
Tkachuk was ready for all of it when the Calgary Flames traded him to the Florida Panthers last July.
But a photo finish to the Panthers’ playoff race? Tkachuk didn’t see that coming. And with the Panthers one point back of an Eastern Conference wild-card slot with six games to go, it’s not the most comfortable scenario, either.
“I’ve never been in this position where we’re like the one team on the outside fighting for the last, last spot,” Tkachuk told ESPN this week. “I’ve either been out of the playoffs with x-many games left, or you’re in first place. I’ve been in the playoffs for most of my career, so I still have that itch and that drive and a hunger to make it. We have to do it. Have to. We’ve got to keep turning the page.”
Tkachuk says all this with a mischievous glint in his eye. Like he knows — even if others doubt it — that Florida will find a way. It’s that spark the Panthers coveted when they acquired Tkachuk in the blockbuster deal last summer that sent Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar to Calgary.
The move didn’t come without controversy. Tkachuk was a pending restricted free agent at the time who told Flames general manager Brad Treliving he wouldn’t be signing in Calgary long-term. So, Treliving inked Tkachuk to an eight-year, $76 million extension that facilitated Tkachuk’s imminent departure to the Panthers without a hiccup.
Meanwhile, Florida was reeling from its disappointing second-round ouster in the playoffs after loading up with the likes of Claude Giroux and Ben Chiarot in an ultimately failed attempt to win the Stanley Cup despite earning Presidents’ Trophy honors for a franchise-record 122-point regular season.
Huberdeau — and his 30-goal, 115-point campaign — was a significant part of Florida’s success. Suddenly he was on the way out with Weegar. Giroux and Chiarot departed in free agency. Paul Maurice had been hired to replace Andrew Brunette as head coach.
And Hurricane Tkachuk was about to make landfall.
“I actually remember my dad [former NHL player Keith Tkachuk] saying like, ‘I feel like getting traded is harder than people think because everything’s different,'” Tkachuk said. “I kept telling him, ‘I don’t think it’s going to be that hard. I think it’s going to be easy.'”
The fit was immediately flawless.
Tkachuk bound onto the south Florida scene with five goals and 16 points in his first 11 games. It was a seamless transition from the career-best year Tkachuk produced with the Flames in 2021-22, when his 42 goals and 104 points in 82 games proved the known on-ice agitator was more than just an enduring pest. Tkachuk could be an offensive powerhouse, too.
That has been the case in Florida. Even as the Panthers stumbled their way to repeatedly poor results, Tkachuk was pulling his weight putting up top-10 numbers in the league. That led to being one of Florida’s representatives in February’s NHL All-Star Game, where he was crowned MVP.
The 25-year-old didn’t let up from there. Through 72 games, Tkachuk had climbed to fifth overall in points (with 97), to go with 35 goals. His consistency would eventually be a catalyst to Florida surging from bottom dweller to playoff contender.
On Jan. 1, the Panthers looked dead in the water at 16-18-4 and sitting 23rd overall in the league. Only Montreal had a worse record in the Atlantic Division.
Then, Florida flipped a switch with a 10-3-2 run into early February and wouldn’t lose back-to-back games again until mid-March. That skid — dropping four straight before topping Toronto in overtime Wednesday — put the Panthers back behind the Penguins (who are one point up with a game in hand) for the second wild-card slot. Setbacks aside, the fact that the Panthers are even teetering toward making it in is a miracle.
“Oh, we’ve fought,” Tkachuk said. “We’ve fought from 10 points back to get ourselves in the mix. Just to be in the race at the end of the year, that’s all you want. That’s all you can ask for. But it’s hard to make the playoffs. I just think back to how around Christmas and early January we were not in a great spot standings-wise, and the fact that we’ve been able to fight our way back to being in the hunt here, it’s really good to be able to do that.”
It’s rare that Tkachuk doesn’t exude confidence. But the unfamiliar territory of jockeying this late in the season for a postseason future brought on unanticipated mental battles. Tkachuk hadn’t gone consecutive games without a point since late December until he failed to get on the scoresheet in Florida’s recent losses to the Rangers and Senators. That led to some internal reflection.
“I catch myself at times maybe trying a little bit too much,” Tkachuk said. “What works for me is what I have to do consistently night in and night out. I know that it will help our team if I’m playing and I’m going. I have to get back to my game. I haven’t maybe had my best last couple of games, but I still feel like my best hockey is yet to come. So hopefully I get a chance to show that here and help us make playoffs.”
Tkachuk’s teammates won’t bet against that. Forward Colin White knew Tkachuk well before they were Panthers and can attest that — even amid another potential career year — Tkachuk’s top qualities have remained the same.
“He just slows the game down better than anyone I’ve seen in a long time,” White said. “Around the front of the net, he’s always been amazing there and is now probably one of the best net-front guys in the NHL. But the way he slows things down when he gets the puck and can buy time for everyone is truly special.”
If it weren’t for the otherworldliness of one Connor McDavid (with 143 points and counting), Tkachuk might feature prominently in the Hart Trophy conversation. That’s not a place most pundits could have put Tkachuk even two years ago — just ask his coach.
Maurice saw plenty of Tkachuk from his perch behind the Winnipeg Jets bench from 2016-17 to 2020-21. He recognized Tkachuk then as a nuisance. It took getting to know Tkachuk in Florida for Maurice to realize the winger is so much more than an on-ice character.
“I had no idea truly how special his hands are. [And] he’s been an incredibly well-raised young man,” Maurice said. “[I say that] because for me, I’m just probably like you: He’s in Calgary. I’m in Winnipeg; I’m not thinking that on the bench. I’m thinking profanity. And that’s been the biggest [shift] … there’s a quiet maturation in his game. You go back and look and he’s had [12 penalty minutes] in about his last [23] games. We need him on the ice. So, his maturation as a player, his relationships with the referees, his relationships with the game [have evolved].”
It’s not only about how Tkachuk conducts himself on skates that has changed Maurice’s mind. Tkachuk’s presence in the Panthers’ dressing room swiftly brought to light more personality that Maurice didn’t expect to find.
“Matthew has incredible relationships with the support [staff],” the coach said. “Whether it’s the bus driver or therapists or the arena guys, and it’s every day and it’s ‘please’ and ‘thank you.’ What a special young man.”
That’s the Tkachuk whom White has always known, with more depth than just an aggravating gnat in some post-whistle scrum.
“I think you see how competitive he is. He’s just got that mean streak and he’s not afraid,” White said. “But maybe you don’t see how much he cares. Not only about hockey but about you as a person and how you’re doing every day. Away from the rink he’s always texting guys and seeing how they’re doing. He’s just a great leader and a great friend.”
Tkachuk skillfully sidesteps talking about himself too much or delving into the details of what has allowed for his quick success in the Panthers’ lineup. With a simple shrug, Tkachuk acknowledges some guys would struggle after being traded, but says his Panthers’ teammates were so welcoming it made getting settled easy.
The change of scenery helped, too. Tkachuk admittedly enjoys the less taxing travel schedule playing in the Eastern Conference compared with the West. And he has taken advantage of more outdoor time. An avid golfer, Tkachuk said his game was “really good at the beginning of the year,” but when the Panthers buckled down post-Jan. 1 for their playoff push, he put extracurricular activities on the back burner.
Frankly, he’ll be happy not to wield a club again for weeks. If that’s the case, then Florida — and Tkachuk — have completed an improbable mission to regain postseason form.
“My off days I’m actually using to help myself,” Tkachuk said. “So that’s been a big difference. It’s that point in the year where you have to learn from each game because the next thing you realize, it’s a week from now and you’re out of it. And we want to stay in.”
-
Max Olson, ESPN Staff Writer
BOULDER, Colo. — Deion Sanders watched his Colorado offense put up 49 points on the top scoring defense in the Big 12 on Saturday, but he isn’t satisfied. The coach expects dominance in all three phases of the game.
The Buffaloes outplayed Utah in two out of three phases and eventually got rolling on offense in a 49-24 victory, extending their win streak to four games and ensuring they’ll remain in the Big 12 championship race the rest of the way. Afterward, Sanders delivered a critique that sounded a little more like a warning to others.
“We haven’t even put it all together yet,” Sanders said. “Like, we haven’t even played our best game. That should be, in itself, scary. Like, man, when I said we comin’, we still comin’. We never stopped comin’. We are comin’. And we ain’t nearly there yet.”
Colorado (8-2, 6-1) got a strong start from its defense, which held the Utes (4-6, 1-6) to 83 yards on 33 plays in the first half, and a 76-yard punt return touchdown from receiver LaJohntay Wester to help make up for a bumpy start on offense. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders was intercepted on his first pass and later fumbled a snap for another turnover.
It may not have been the Buffaloes’ finest performance of the season, but it was a 25-point win over the preseason Big 12 front-runner, snapping a seven-game losing streak against a program whose last win at Folsom Field came by a score of 63-21.
“I think that speaks a lot about the program and where we are,” Deion Sanders said. “We’ve got to tighten some things up and get some things together, but you see we’re trending in the right direction.
“We started off rough. That wasn’t indicative to who Shedeur is, and I thought he was kind of OK all game long. Then I look at the stats and he’s 30-for-41 for 340 [yards] and three [touchdowns]. Like, c’mon man. I guess I’m just a hard dad to please at times, as well as a hard head coach.”
Sanders praised Utah’s defense and the problems it presented throughout the contest and said he was thankful for the challenge. It took complementary football to overcome the two first-half turnovers, with Colorado’s defense holding Utah to field goals after both takeaways. The Buffaloes didn’t surrender a touchdown until midway through the third quarter.
“Those type of things can’t happen,” Shedeur Sanders said, “and I’m going to have a talk with the whole offense and apologize for my performance out there at the very beginning, because I can’t put the team in that type of situation. I’m thankful for the defense. I may have to take them out to dinner this week for saving me and saving the team.”
Sanders responded after the fumble by guiding an 85-yard touchdown drive that featured another highlight-reel moment for Travis Hunter. Sanders threw deep to Colorado’s two-way star on a fourth-and-8, and Hunter made a leaping grab over two Utah defenders for a 25-yard gain. Sanders hit Will Sheppard for an 8-yard score on his next throw to extend Colorado’s lead to 21-6.
Hunter added to his Heisman Trophy résumé Saturday with 55 receiving yards on five catches, a 5-yard rushing touchdown on a reverse and his third interception of the season while playing 132 snaps.
When asked if he had a message for undecided Heisman voters, Deion Sanders did not hold back.
Travis Hunter after his third interception on the season 🔥 pic.twitter.com/NhvAnbGLow
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 16, 2024
“If they can’t see, they can’t see,” Sanders said. “It is what it is. I mean, Travis is who he is. It’s supposed to go to the best college football player. I think that’s been a wrap since, what, Week 2? So we ain’t petitioning for nobody. We ain’t doing that. We’ve got a wonderful display of cameras here and I think we’re on national television every week. If they can’t see it, there’s a problem.
“Don’t allow their hatred for me to interfere with our kids’ success. They gotta stop that. Y’all gotta stop. Some of y’all are like that. Y’all gotta stop that, man. Give the kids what they deserve, man. I had my turn. I played 14 years. You had 14 years to hate me. Now let it go.”
Hunter was the Heisman front-runner in ESPN BET odds entering Week 12 at +125, ahead of Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel, Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty and Miami quarterback Cam Ward.
Colorado’s defense was able to constantly pressure freshman quarterback Isaac Wilson, forcing four sacks and three interceptions, and Utah finished with a mere 31 rushing yards, their fewest in a game since 2011. The preseason No. 12 Utes were considered the Big 12 favorites entering their first season in the conference but are now in danger of their first losing campaign since 2013.
“I’m in the twilight zone,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. “… It’s the most difficult year of my coaching career, hands down, not even close.”
Colorado continues to control its destiny in chasing a Big 12 championship game bid, as the lone team in the 16-member conference that has lost just one conference game entering Saturday. The Buffaloes’ four-game win streak since a 31-28 home loss to Kansas State on Oct. 12 is the longest of Sanders’ two-year tenure.
After a 4-8 debut season, he has this once struggling program right where he planned to be for Year 2. In a league known for dramatic games decided by one-score margins, Sanders isn’t just trying to survive and advance to Arlington, Texas. He says he’s aiming for “flawless.”
“We expect to be here,” Sanders said. “A lot of y’all didn’t expect us to be here, and don’t think we don’t know that. But we expected to be where we are. Matter of fact, we expected to be a little better.”
-
Pete Thamel, ESPN
Ball State fired coach Mike Neu, the school announced Saturday. The Cardinals are 3-7.
Neu was 40-63 in nine seasons at Ball State. Neu led the Cardinals to the MAC title in 2020, which was his only winning season at Ball State.
Sources told ESPN that the staff was informed of Neu’s dismissal early Saturday.
Offensive line coach Colin Johnson will serve as the interim head coach for the last two games, athletic director Jeff Mitchell said in a statement. Ball State hosts Bowling Green on Nov. 23 then plays at Ohio on Nov. 29.
Neu, 53, is a beloved alum with a strong campus reputation, but the lack of results ultimately led to his dismissal. Ball State lost 51-48 in overtime at Buffalo this week and fell to 2-4 in MAC play.
That clinched a fourth consecutive losing season for Ball State.
“Coach Neu has poured his heart into the Ball State football program,” Mitchell said in the statement. “I commend him for his professionalism and the positive team culture he has constructed. His efforts have greatly impacted the lives of hundreds of young men. He has represented the Ball State brand with integrity and class, and I wish him well in future pursuits.”
Neu led Ball State to two bowl games. That included a win over San Jose State in the Arizona Bowl to conclude the 2020 season, when Ball State finished 7-1 and won its first MAC title since 1996.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports7 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Environment1 year agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway