George Richards, FHN Publisher
After his final game of the past season, Florida Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk made it clear how he felt about Sergei Bobrovsky.
“The only guy I will be recruiting, and I hope I don’t have to recruit him, and that’s Bob,” Tkachuk said following Florida’s season-ending 8-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings in Sunrise.
“We cannot lose him. He’s our guy. He is going to get us back to where we want to be. [He is] the most important piece of our team, the past couple of years, with what he has done. It’s the character, the work ethic, the drive. He sets the tone on and off the ice. I don’t care what age he is, he is the backbone of this team. If we’re going to get back there, we’re going to need him.’’
Well, a few months later, the Panthers and Bobrovsky parted ways.
After trying to negotiate a new deal, the Panthers moved on and acquired Jacob Markstrom in a trade with the New Jersey Devils — and Bobrovsky became a free agent and signed a three-year, $21 million deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Speaking with his brother (and new Florida teammate) Brady Tkachuk on their Wingmen podcast, Matthew Tkachuk said he is going to miss Bobrovsky on and off the ice, while also expressing excitement about being reunited with Markstrom whom he played with in Calgary.
Tkachuk spent four seasons with Bobrovsky in South Florida with the Panthers going to the Stanley Cup Final three straight years and winning it all in 2024 and 2025.
“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.’’
To get Markstrom, the Panthers had to trade two of their unsung heroes in Evan Rodrigues and Jesper Boqvist to the Devils.
Tkachuk said it was tough saying goodbye to both of them as well.
Rodrigues helped the Panthers win the Stanley Cup twice after signing a four-year deal with Florida in 2023; Boqvist joined the team in 2024.
“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, well, the Panthers should have plenty under the salary cap.
“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.’’
Tkachuk also had a lot of good things to say about Boqvist, who came off the bench to help the Panthers in the playoffs.
As for Markstrom, Tkachuk said that as sad is he is to see Bobrovsky go, he is thrilled to get to play with Markstrom once more.
“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 went on, saying the two have video chatted a number of times since the trade and Markstrom is already working his way into the team card games.
“Not your normal goalie,’’ Tkachuk said. “He’s a F-ing beauty.’’