Two Florida Panthers defenceman require surgery, both expected to miss the start of the 2023-24 season
Following Florida's Game 5 loss on Tuesday night, head coach Paul Maurice told reporters that Matthew Tkachuk and Aaron Ekblad were suffering from significant injuries. Both are expected to have surgery and they may miss the start of the 2023-24 season, although it's too early to tell.
On Wednesday, ESPN's Kevin Weekes revealed that another Panthers defenceman may need to have surgery this offseason and that player is Brandon Montour.
Weekes said in a tweet that Montour has been playing with a torn labrum in his shoulder, which will likely require surgery and will keep him out of action for three months. Depending on when Montour goes under the knife, he could also miss the start of the 2023-24 season.
Montour, 29, had the best season of his National Hockey League career thus far. In 80 games during the regular season, the Brantford native put up 73 points (16 goals, 57 assists), 107 penalty minutes and was a plus-nine. He went on to add 13 points in 21 playoff games.
The 73 points Montour put up during the regular season is the most in Florida Panthers history by a defenceman, surpassing Keith Yandle who had 62 during the 2018-19 campaign.
There's a very good chance that there are other injuries on the Panthers roster that we don't know about yet or might not know about at all. With the Panthers staring down the possibility of starting next season without three key players, it's certainly worrisome as they'll look to get off to a strong start to the 2023-24 campaign and return to the Stanley Cup Final.
Today during Panthers media availability it was also confirmed that Aaron Ekblad would require surgery and will not be ready for next season.
| POLL | ||
Will the Panthers return to the Stanley Cup Final in 2024? | ||
| Yes, they have a good team | 14 | 10.4 % |
| No, they won't be back | 84 | 62.2 % |
| Seems doubtful, this year was a fluke | 37 | 27.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
