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Early Returns: Matthew Tkachuk Trade Looks Good on the Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers took a big leap of faith by sending all-time leading scorer Jonathan Huberdeau and budding star defenseman MacKenzie Weegar to Calgary for Matthew Tkachuk in a blockbuster July trade.
It has paid off for them so far.
Through the first month of the season, Tkachuk leads the Panthers with five goals and 16 points in 11 games, which is good for sixth in the league.
Huberdeau, meanwhile, has just one goal and five points in nine games for a Flames team that currently finds itself on a three-game losing skid.
Last season, Florida relied on a speed-based transition game to generate offense — which worked great in the regular season to the tune of 340 goals.
The playoffs were a different story entirely.
And that is a big reason why Tkachuk is in Florida — and Huberdeau is not.
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