Matthew Tkachuk on Jayson Tatum: ‘We Did It For St. Louis’

Former classmates, Tkachuk and Tatum both won championships this past spring

Pro wrestling isn’t the only place with heels.

In the NHL, that distinction belongs to the Florida Panthers.

Not only are the Panthers the villains of the league, but they are also the Stanley Cup champions.

Led by left winger/constant menace Matthew Tkachuk, the Panthers won their first Cup in franchise history this season when they defeated the Edmonton Oilers in a phenomenal seven-game series.

Tkachuk is also a former classmate of Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum, who won his first NBA title only a week before Tkachuk hoisted the Cup. Both Tatum and Tkachuk attended Chaminade College Preparatory School in St. Louis, Missouri, adding another unique element to their championship runs this spring.

“It was amazing to watch him do it, and it was amazing to follow him,” said Tkachuk. “We did it for St. Louis, we did it for Chaminade.”

📍St. Louis, MO

Tatum & Tkachuk win it all together pic.twitter.com/jQ19OcJOCC

— Gateway Grinders (@gatewaygrinders) June 25, 2024

Tkachuk, 26, admitted he is not a pro wrestling fan–but, if WWE ever comes calling, he knows who he’d want with him in the ring.

“If I need a tag team partner, he’s the guy,” said Tkachuk. “I’m so happy for him. He’s such a great player. Like myself, we’ve been close–but we didn’t win it all until we both won this season. The fact that we were both able to do it, it’s really special.”

Matthew Tkachuk hoists the Stanley Cup / USA Today

Jayson Tatum won his first NBA title this spring, too / USA Today

Tkachuk is playing in this weekend’s American Century Championship. He is a heavy underdog in the star-studded field, which airs all weekend on NBC, Peacock, and the Golf Channel.

An extended playoff run eliminated any chance to work on his game, but Tkachuk is not complaining.

“I’m not playing that great right now due to a lack of practice,” he admitted. “But I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Tkachuk was partnered yesterday with former MLB slugger Jayson Werth and Washington Capitals’ winger TJ Oshie. But he does look out of place not on the ice next to the likes of Panthers’ teammates Sam Reinhart, Aleksander Barkov, Carter Verhaeghe, and Gustav Forsling.

“I felt we were going to be a very, very good team this year,” said Tkachuk. “Now that the season is over, I can say it–we were a wagon. We had a lot of depth, we had guys playing big at big moments. Overall, we were a very solid team.”

The Panthers defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins, and the New York Rangers en route to the Cup.

“Each series presented a different challenge,” said Tkachuk. “When we beat Tampa, that was a slaying the dragon moment. To win the Stanley Cup, I’ve always said you had to go through Tampa. Doesn’t matter what seed they are or what they did in the regular season, they’re still the team to beat. Beating them early set the stage for us.

“Then we had the Bruins, who were the hardest matchup, the hardest series, and the best team we played. They’re physical, hard to play against, tough defensively and have great goaltending–they’re big and physical just like us. Then the Rangers were a bit of a different beast. A lot less physical, but offensively, they’re a really good team.

“Edmonton, we had their number, we had them on the ropes. We let them back in Game 4, then all of a sudden, we were in Game 7.”

Tkachuk relishes his role as an instigator on the ice / USA Today

Florida nearly made history in the Cup for all the wrong reasons. After jumping out to a commanding three games-to-none lead, the Oilers ripped off three straight wins to force a Game 7.

“I was the most antsy before Game 4,” said Tkachuk. “Before Game 7, that was the calmest I’d been all series. Our goalie, Sergei Bobrovsky, is extremely routine-oriented. Before every game, it’s the same. But before Game 7, he didn’t do his normal routine. He just sat and stared at Edmonton’s lineup. It was like, oh baby, he’s locked in. That’s when I realized that was our time.”

As for Tkachuk and his teammates flourishing as the league’s villains, he noted it is a role that suits him well.

“I embrace that, and we embrace that,” said Tkachuk. “Last year, we kind of became ‘The Bad Boys’ of the NHL. We knew, going into rinks, teams hate playing against us–but they also respect us. Our compete, our physicality, no one wants to play against a team like us, especially in the playoffs.”