Matthew Tkachuk wears a splint on his right arm

Tonight marks the presentation of the NHL’s individual trophies. The event will be held at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.

Before the draft (Wednesday) and the opening of the free agent market (Saturday), there’s an interesting little entry to follow. No Canadian player or member is a finalist for any of the trophies, so don’t expect to see one of them on the podium.

However, Carey Price won the Bill Masterton Trophy last year.

A player like Matthew Tkachuk, who has been one of the NHL’s best players this season, is present at the event. The Panthers forward is one of the finalists for the Hart Trophy, awarded to his team’s most valuable player. Yesterday, the American answered a few questions in his media availability and was seen wearing a splint on his right arm.

We know he had a severe sternum injury, but his arm injury hasn’t really been discussed in the past.

It makes you wonder how many different places the striker is injured. After all, he gave his all for his team, and by the end of the playoffs, he was magicked. Not unlike his teammate Aaron Ekblad, by the way.

It’s also worth remembering that during the 2021 series, many CH players finished the series very banged up. So it’s nothing new in the NHL for players who’ve had a long playoff run to be banged up during the summer.

As for Tkachuk, he has all summer to heal. What’s less reassuring, however, is that the player himself says he still doesn’t know when he’ll be able to get back on the ice.

Will he be healthy for training camp? Will he miss the start of the season?

One thing’s for sure: the Panthers aren’t going to rush him back into the game. Even with their MVP sidelined, Florida is the team in the best position to say: “It’s not how you start a year, it’s how you finish it”.

In Brief

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Freddie Freeman becomes the 6th active MLB player to reach this plateau! 👏💥 pic.twitter.com/AKmkL7S8mU

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