It is not uncommon for star players to opt out of training camp in the NHL. But for the back to back Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers, this is not the case. Captain Matthew Tkachuk will not be at training camp, but not by choice. The 27-year-old is recovering from surgery to repair a torn abductor muscle, as well as recovering from the sports hernia that led to him missing 25 games last season.
General manager Bill Zito provided a soft time frame on his recovery.
“Anticipate him being out until December-ish,” Zito said of Tkachuk.
There is no real time table available yet, as Tkachuk received the surgery just last month. There was a multi-week deliberation that included trips to several different specialists.
“There’s a series of opinions that when somebody undertakes this type of procedure,” Zito said. “You can see it’s a possibility. I think ultimately it was the final diagnosis in tandem with his decision of, ‘What do I want to try to do?’”
“There are measuring posts along the way and then how your reaction is at a certain point would then dictate when the next one is,” Zito continued about Tkachuk’s return-to-play plan. “It’s not necessarily equally laid-out timelines. … And so, we anticipate him being out until December-ish, but don’t hold me to that. That’s my internet medical degree.”