Matthew Tkachuk Reveals Brutal Injuries That Almost Kept Him Out of Stanley Cup Final

Hockey players are simply built different.

Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk hoists the Stanley Cup. / Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

The Florida Panthers are Stanley Cup champions for the second straight year.

With a dominant performance in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final, the Panthers took down the Edmonton Oilers once again to lift the trophy in front of their home fans.

After the win, Panthers right wing Matthew Tkachuk opened up about his long, hard road back to the ice after suffering an injury earlier in the year.

Tkachuk was injured while playing for Team USA in the 4 Nations Face-Off back in February, and whether or not he would be able to return for the playoffs was an open question as the season rolled on. Eventually, Tkachuk was activated just before the start of the Panthers postseason run, and was able to contribute all the way through the Stanley Cup Final.

Speaking after the game, Tkachuk thanked the team’s medical staff for helping his recovery, and revealed just how brutal his climb back from injury was.

“I tore my adductor off the bone, and then had some hernia thing all on the same side,” Tkachuk said. “Wanted to throw in the towel a bunch of times. I gotta thank a lot of people for getting me healthy enough. I’m sure I wasn’t the easiest to deal with.”

Matthew Tkachuk TORE HIS ADDUCTOR OFF THE BONE and had a HERNIA 😱 pic.twitter.com/ZBSonNjoP7

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 18, 2025

Fans were extremely impressed by Tkachuk’s ability to play through the pain.

My favourite hockey tradition is when the playoffs end and guys start revealing the insane injuries they've been playing through for 2 months. https://t.co/azUq29EgBe

— Mark Gottlieb (@MarkGottlieb) June 18, 2025

Hockey players are just different. The Stanley Cup will always be the hardest trophy to win in sports, and here is a good reason why. https://t.co/eG3pCc8zHr

— Benjamin Goldstein (@BGoldsteinPSR) June 18, 2025

Tough 😤 https://t.co/tR9k5rxpDh

— Erik Stevenson (@egs5292) June 18, 2025

Hockey players are one tough bunch.

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