![]() ![]() I like to go on boats, but I don’t want to drive a boat. Have you become a boat guy since moving to Florida? Playing in the U.S., having these opportunities with people like Jimmy Butler and Charles Barkley, having way more nationally-televised games, competing for the Stanley Cup, that’s made not only myself but everyone on the team more of a name than we were before. The way I’m able to live down here is insane. My life has changed so much since coming. It’s just a perk that you get to live in Florida on top of all that. But you’re not just coming here to live the Florida life, you’re coming here to win. When I chose to come here, the number one reason was to be on a competitive team, compete for championships year over year, right behind that was the way of life. These warmer climate markets aren’t the same as Toronto or Montreal, but the success that everyone’s had down here is no secret. People probably don’t look at Florida as the biggest hockey market, but Tampa’s won all these Cups recently and been to a bunch of Finals, the Panthers had some good runs before I got here, and when you go out West, Vegas has been right there at the top. It’s funny how that’s who we’re playing in the Final. When you look at it-this is my opinion, and I would say most people’s opinion-the top two destinations in the league right now are the Florida teams. But you’re making it all sound pretty great. It’s a relatively new franchise, you’re playing in warm weather in the south, it’s a very opposite idea of what most people have in their head when they think of the NHL. The idea of playing hockey in Florida always has this kind of funny connotation. Now that the Heat are in the Finals and I have zero allegiance to the Denver Nuggets at all-if the Heat can pull off the upset it’d be unreal for all of South Florida. I thought it’d just be easier to root for a couple players. Louis would be pissed at me if I was rooting against Jayson and all the people here probably wouldn’t be happy if I was rooting against the Heat. I honestly just loved going to watch Jayson and Jimmy Butler. So who were you rooting for in that Heat-Celtics series? You’re in South Florida now, but I just learned that you went to high school in St. I watched more of Shaq, because he was closer to my generation, but I just watched Charles in the Dream Team documentary. Always there to chirp each other and have fun. But we’re really tight and actually best friends. I think that would be a great comparison for how me and my brother are. As he told GQ in a recent interview, there are far worse places to be. In his first year in Florida after six with the Calgary Flames, Tkachuk has adjusted accordingly to the tropical lifestyle. Tkachuk has also appeared on Inside the NBA, and by sweeping Carolina, he’s had some leisure time to soak up the sun before starting the Stanley Cup Final. (He uses the word “unreal” frequently.) As his Panthers have climbed the postseason ladder, Jimmy Butler has worn Tkachuk’s jersey, strengthening the bond between two South Florida underdogs gunning for improbable championships. Bringing down a fourth 100-point team would be a fairytale ending to the Panthers’ postseason march-and very much in line with the fairytale that the 25-year-old Tkachuk has been living. ![]() ![]() The Vegas Golden Knights, owners of the best record in the Western Conference, are no slouch. The Panthers have one more challenge standing between them and Lord Stanley. With just 4.3 seconds left in regulation, Tkachuk buried the goal (his fourth game-winner of the playoffs) that clinched Florida’s first trip to the Stanley Cup Final since 1996. The final fixture of that series provided the biggest moment of Tkachuk’s career. The Panthers only needed four games for them. The Eastern Conference Finals pitted Florida against the Carolina Hurricanes, a juggernaut that would have had the league’s best record if not for the Bruins going supernova. The Panthers completed a gentleman's sweep of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round, and shortly after that, Tkachuk was named a finalist for the Hart Trophy, given to the NHL’s Most Valuable Player. He netted the game winner in the fifth game and assisted on the Game 7 knockout punch that sent Florida to the next round. Both Games 5 and 7-elimination games for the Panthers-went to overtime, and Tkachuk was heavily involved. First, he and the Florida Panthers took down the Boston Bruins in one of the biggest upsets the NHL has ever seen: Florida came back from a 3-1 deficit in their first-round series to oust the team with the best regular-season record in league history. Here’s a recap of everything that’s happened to Matthew Tkachuk over the last five weeks.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |