Brady Tkachuk missed the third period Tuesday night in Raleigh, but Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice insists it was purely precautionary.
"Minor," Maurice told reporters after the game. "He may well be on the ice tomorrow."
Florida dropped a 3-2 shootout decision to Carolina, which means the Panthers played the final 20 minutes without their newest power forward.
The timing is brutal. Tkachuk's name was already everywhere Tuesday after Michael Andlauer said the family "got in his kitchen" during the trade saga.
Now the first headline out of his Florida camp is an absence. Not exactly the fresh start anyone in South Florida pictured.
The Panthers can afford caution in September. They went 1-0-1 in two preseason meetings with Carolina, winning 6-3 on Sunday before Tuesday's shootout loss.
But how careful is too careful with a guy built to play through everything?
Panthers circle a Carolina rematch for opening night
The regular-season opener is September 29 in Raleigh, against the same Hurricanes. Florida visits Tampa Bay on Thursday before that.
That's why the word precautionary matters here. Maurice wants Tkachuk healthy for games that count, not for an exhibition in late September.
The winger isn't the type coaches usually have to hold back. He has piled up 213 goals over his NHL career.
His best year produced 83 points, and he's still just 27.
Florida already carries Aleksander Barkov at $10,000,000 and Seth Jones at $9,500,000. Adding Tkachuk to that core raised the ceiling and the pressure at the same time.
Andlauer says the reunion with Matthew is what brought him south. Nobody in that dressing room wants it delayed by something Maurice already calls minor.
Pulling him for a period in September is like taking the new sports car off the highway at the first odd noise. Smart, and a little paranoid.
It's the right call. The Panthers had nothing to win in an exhibition shootout in Raleigh and plenty to lose.
If Tkachuk skates Wednesday, this becomes a footnote by lunch.
If he doesn't, the questions start stacking up fast, with Tampa on Thursday and Carolina waiting a week from tonight.
Should Paul Maurice sit Brady Tkachuk for the rest of the preseason?
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