NHL Insider reveals full list of teams Matthew Tkachuk was willing to move to
This summer's Matthew Tkachuk trade to the Florida Panthers was one of the most shocking events of the offseason, perhaps only second to teammate Johnny Gaudreau's shocking decision to sign in Columbus of all places.
When Tkachuk had originally went public and stated that he was not interested in signing a long-term extension to remain in Calgary, it was abundantly clear that Flames GM Brad Treliving would move him ASAP to avoid watching Tkachuk's value plummet. In the end, he was able to secure a sign-and-trade, the first in league history, to send Tkachuk to Florida in exchange for pending UFAs Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, a prospect and a conditional 1st round pick and everyone walked away from the deal happy.
During a recent write-up for The Athletic, NHL Insider Pierre LeBrun revealed the full list of teams that Tkachuk was willing to accept a trade to. Naturally, we already knew that Florida, St. Louis and Carolina were on the list, but it appears as though Newport Sports had also included the Vegas Golden Knights and the last two Stanley Cup winners, the Tampa Bay Lightning and Colorado Avalanche.
In the end, the Panthers wound up with Tkachuk on an 8-year, $76M deal (with a $9.5M AAV), which is probably a bargain, considering the fact that his qualifying offer was $9M and that the league's salary cap is expected to jump by a significant amount within the next 2-3 years.
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 14 | 229 ANSWERS NHL Insider reveals full list of teams Matthew Tkachuk was willing to move to Do you like where Matthew Tkachuk ended up (Florida)? Or would you have preferred to see him land elsewhere? | ||
| Colorado! | 42 | 18.3 % |
| St. Louis! | 57 | 24.9 % |
| Florida is the right spot | 56 | 24.5 % |
| Elsewhere | 74 | 32.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
