Report: Key pieces in packages from St. Louis, Carolina for Matthew Tkachuk revealed
Are we all Matthew Tkachuk'd out yet? I know I'm getting close. Nevertheless, a report from The Athletic's Jeremy Rutherford on Sunday night peaked my interest, so perhaps it will yours as well.
Obviously, we are all now well versed on the Matthew Tkachuk to Florida deal, with Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar being the two main pieces coming back. We also know that Florida wasn't the only team in on Tkachuk, as both St. Louis and Carolina reportedly made significant pitches. Up until last night, we did not know what those pitches may have entailed. Now we know, thanks to Rutherford's report.
As for how we know that St. Louis was one of the teams, well, Tkachuk himself pretty much confirmed it on Sunday.
"Just being the hometown team and a team that I wore the jersey for when I was younger, they have a really good team and it's a great place to play, so obviously there was some interest from me [with St. Louis]. Could I have pictured myself there? Yes."
-Matthew Tkachuk on St. Louis being on his short list
In terms of who St. Louis would have included in a package for Tkachuk, Rutherford's source suggests that the Blues offered a package including Vladimir Tarasenko, defenseman Marco Scandella and a high pick (presumably a first rounder). The Blues declined to comment on whether the speculation was accurate.
In terms of what the Hurricanes offered, the source was less specific, but did state that the deal would have been centered around 23-year-old Martin Necas, a highly-skilled prospect with a very bright future.
In the end, the Panthers' deal was the best one, and Tkachuk had no qualms with signing an 8-year extension with last year's Presidents Trophy winners, who he feels as though he can win with. He's also intrigued about the idea of raising a family in South Florida.
"Then I think lifestyle. This is a contract where I'll be hopefully eight-plus years. I hope I can play 15 more years and with this team for the rest of my career, somewhere where I'm ultimately going to raise a family. So just looking at the lifestyle and everything, it's a super-attractive place to come play. So it's just very, very, very exciting, something that (happened) really fast, but I've had a smile on my face for, I think, 48 straight hours."
-Tkachuk on what made Florida the ideal destination for him
The Panthers will likely regress a bit this season, but Tkachuk is a fine piece to add to their forward group and I'm certain they'll be a playoff team again in the coming spring.
