FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Panthers expect forward Matthew Tkachuk to be sidelined until approximately December while he recovers from offseason surgery to deal with a sports hernia and torn adductor muscle, team hockey operations president and general manager Bill Zito said Wednesday.
The timeline is fluid, since there are various benchmarks that Tkachuk has to continue hitting in his recovery before the Panthers can further evaluate. Tkachuk had surgery in August, after weeks of deliberating if the procedure was necessary.
“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?’”
The Panthers also expect Tomas Nosek to be out indefinitely, after he was injured during the offseason. Nosek is dealing with a knee issue.
“It's going to be months, for sure,” Zito said.
Tkachuk missed the final 25 games of the regular season last spring but was able to play through both injuries for the Panthers when the team won its second consecutive Stanley Cup championship.
The December timetable means that Tkachuk should have plenty of time to prepare to play for USA Hockey in February at the Milan-Cortina Olympics. Tkachuk is expected to be one of the top players on the U.S. Olympic team, which will seek its first gold medal since the Lake Placid Games in 1980.
Tkachuk had 23 points — eight goals and 15 assists — in 23 playoff games, including seven points in the Stanley Cup Final against Edmonton. The Panthers beat the Oilers in six games.
“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 said 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.”
The Panthers open training camp on Thursday. Most of the team's top players and veterans aren't expected to be involved in the early days of camp, Zito said, while the team tries to balance its exposure to wear and tear — the team has played into June in each of the last three seasons — against the need to get ready for the season.
The plan is for those players to be back on the ice in full next week, Zito said.
“They're going to continue to do their off-ice individual training,” he said. “We're trying to get better. We're trying to improve.”
Florida begins the regular season at home against the Chicago Blackhawks on Oct. 7.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
FILE - Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the first period in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, April 30, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, File)
Florida Panthers' Matthew Tkachuk (19) raises the Stanley Cup after defeating the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final in Sunrise, Fla., Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
WENGEN, Switzerland (AP) — Marco Odermatt already has no equals on the World Cup skiing circuit.
Now the Swiss star is unmatched in the biggest event on home snow, too.
Odermatt dominated a shortened race Saturday to set up his fourth career downhill victory in Wengen — breaking a tie for the most downhill victories on the famed Lauberhorn course with Franz Klammer and Beat Feuz.
Austrian standout Klammer claimed his three Wengen downhill wins in the 1970s while Feuz, another Swiss skier, claimed his third victory in 2020.
What’s more is that Odermatt’s four wins have come in succession.
Odermatt finished a massive 0.79 seconds ahead of Austria’s Vincent Kriechmayr and 0.90 ahead of Italy's Giovanni Franzoni, who claimed his first career victory in Friday's super-G.
Strong winds prompted organizers to drastically shorten the course — making the narrow and tactical “Kernen S” section the key to the race. Odermatt mastered the section perfectly and carried away a faster speed on the exit than anyone else.
Franjo von Allmen and Alexis Money, two other Swiss skiers, finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Von Allmen, the world champion in downhill last season, took a riskier approach and skied into a television camera lining the course inside the “S” section. Then he crashed in the finish area — although appeared unhurt.
Dominik Paris of Italy was sixth after registering the top speed at 151.57 kph (94 kph).
It’s the first of the two weekends at the circuit’s classic venues, with Kitzbuehel, Austria, up next. Then the focus will switch to the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in Italy — with the men to ski in Bormio.
Odermatt won gold in giant slalom at the 2022 Beijing Olympics and will be favored to win multiple medals at the upcoming Games.
Overall, it was Odermatt’s 52nd World Cup victory, moving him within two wins of matching Hermann Maier for third place on the all-time men’s list. He's also got a massive lead in the standings as he chases a fifth consecutive overall World Cup title.
Odermatt immediately knew he had done something special again, screaming with delight in the finish area and waving to the crowd, which was made up almost entirely of fans waving Swiss flags.
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen crashes at the finish area of an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Zenoni)
Spectators gather to follow an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill race, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)
Switzerland's Marco Odermatt reacts in the finish area during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill race, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (Peter Schneider/Keystone via AP)
Switzerland's Marco Odermatt speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Switzerland's Marco Odermatt reacts in the finish area during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill race, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (Peter Schneider/Keystone via AP)
