Star forward Matthew Tkachuk made his season debut for the Florida Panthers in a loss to the San Jose Sharks on Monday, his first game with the team since winning the Stanley Cup Final over Edmonton last June.

The 28-year-old winger missed the first 47 games of the season after having surgery to repair a torn adductor muscle and sports hernia in August – an injury he suffered at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February of 2025 and subsequently played through during the playoffs.

Tkachuk played just under 21 minutes in the defeat, where he registered three shots on goal, a hit and a blocked shot.

“I will say it was such a relief and nice to be out there,” Tkachuk said to reporters after the game.

“Felt better as it went along. First period was weird, I will say … nothing, nothing mimics a game. It was weird, but the second period felt a little bit better and then the third kind of felt pretty much back to normal.”

Tkachuk delayed his return to the lineup until he felt he was 100 per cent ready to contribute after rushing back to be in the lineup for the beginning of the playoffs last year.

The physical game he endured – which included a roughing penalty in the first period and a big hit from Vincent Desharnais not five minutes into the game – got him up to speed quickly.

“There were a couple, a couple scrums early, a couple hits,” Tkachuk said. “It’s what you need. You almost need that as like a last check it off that you’re good to go. I said it and I guess I had it coming.”

Head coach Paul Maurice is ready to rely on the forward, who has averaged more than a point a game for the past four seasons, to help push the team forward offensively.

“We’re not worried about him,” Maurice said. “He’s gotten to a point that anything that happens going forward is going to be based on whatever happens going forward. He’s not carrying this injury into the rest of the season.”

The Panthers need a “back to normal” version of Tkachuk in their lineup as they continue to fade in the Eastern Conference standings. With victories in just six of their past 14 games, the Panthers enter play on Tuesday seventh in the Atlantic Division and 12th in the Eastern Conference.

In 52 games with Tkachuk in the lineup a season ago, the team went 31-19-2, as opposed to 16-12-2 without him. In their 47 games without Tkachuk this season, the team has a record of 25-19-3.

“Let’s be honest, we’re not in a good spot right now, at all, in the standings,” Tkachuk said. “I can’t afford to come back and just feel my way into it, and hopefully after five games feel back ready and helping. It’s got to happen right away. We’re chasing too many teams. We’re too many points out. It’s hard to chase.

“You don’t want to be chasing after the Olympic break and into the trade deadline. It’s too challenging. Got to get some points now. All these teams around us are going on runs. It’s up to us to do the same.”

The top four teams in the Atlantic – the Tampa Bay Lightning, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins – have a combined record of 30-6-4 over their past 10 games, which has helped create some separation in a division that has been tightly contested from the beginning of the season.

Tkachuk’s return to the lineup should help provide a spark. Even with the 4-1 loss to the Sharks on Monday, his presence provided some energy for the team. Sergei Bobrovsky was assessed a penalty for leaving the crease and fighting after skating across the ice to join a scrum alongside Sharks goalie Alex Nedeljkovic – the first of his career.

“It’s great,” defenseman Aaron Ekblad said after the game. “You see some of the plays he makes, he’s incredible. Awesome player. Brings a lot of fire to the game and drags everyone with him into the fight. So that’s a huge addition back to our team.”