Matthew Tkachuk shares his thoughts on whether or not the Florida Panthers can still make the playoffs

PUBLICATION

Andrew Loftus
December 30, 2022 (10:03)

SHARE THIS STORY

Things have not exactly gone according to plan for the Florida Panthers this season. Recall last year they won the Presidents Trophy for the NHL's best record. This year, the Panthers have struggled to find any kind consistency. Florida has been hit by the injury bug this season as well. Now that they're back and healthy from the Christmas break, they need to start to win games and pile up points if they think they want to make it to the playoffs. Take a look at what Panther's leading scorer Matthew Tkachuk states about the urgency of the remaining regular season.

Playoffs are now for us. We've played a lot of Western Conference teams at the beginning of the year, but now it's getting to a lot of these four-point games. It's teams that are right next to us or above us in the standings that we have to chase down.

Tkachuk is certainly right about where the Panthers stand and their divisional games are very meaningful. Florida is already in a division tough division with Toronto, Boston, and Tampa. It's likely they won't catch those three teams. Florida is really handcuffed by salary cap constraints as well. This prevents them from making any moves that would help them down the stretch.

This season in Florida it seems like the Panthers will take a few steps back not forward. With their inconsistent play and salary cap troubles it is difficult to see this team make the playoffs, even with the addition of leading scorer Matthew Tkachuk. This team has also traded away multiple first round picks so no prospects are coming anytime soon. General Manager Bill Zito has to find a way to find some cap relief to give this club some options for the future.