Matthew Tkachuk didn’t hold back when asked about Sergei Bobrovsky’s impact after the veteran goalie signed with Toronto. The Florida Panthers forward called the now-Leafs netminder the team’s foundation during their championship years.
“The backbone,” Tkachuk said on the Wingmen podcast with his brother Brady. “Obviously, all of our lives have changed forever since the Cups. Our lives would have been the exact same because we wouldn’t have won without him. He was the guy — the guy you relied on, the guy that if you were playing bad, you knew he would be great.”
Bobrovsky left Florida on July 1, signing a three-year, $21 million deal with the Atlantic Division rival Maple Leafs. It ended a four-year run in Sunrise where the Panthers made three Stanley Cup Final appearances and won two titles. Tkachuk and Bobrovsky were teammates for all of it.
Tkachuk said Bobrovsky kept Florida alive in games they had no business being in. “He kept us in so many games that we didn’t deserve to be in, and he won us a lot of games that we didn’t deserve to win,” he said. “Just an outstanding teammate. I’m going to miss him a ton. One of my favorite teammates, ever.”
Bobrovsky’s departure wasn’t a total shock. Florida GM Bill Zito traded for Calgary’s Jacob Markstrom at the end of June, and the writing was on the wall. Tkachuk knows Markstrom well — they played together with the Flames from 2020 to 2022.
“Mixed emotions,” Tkachuk said about the goalie swap. “You’re sad for a bit, but also happy that we get to play with Marky. I played with him in Calgary, and that last year, he was maybe the best goalie in the league.”
The Panthers had a rough 2025-26 season, derailed by injuries across the roster. But with a year of rest and the addition of Brady Tkachuk, Florida is expected to bounce back hard in 2026-27. Markstrom now has the job of keeping them in the Cup conversation, and that’s no small ask after what Bobrovsky delivered.
Bobrovsky leaves behind arguably the best goaltending stretch in franchise history. His numbers over those playoff runs were elite — he gave the Panthers a chance every single night. Markstrom will need to match that level if Florida wants to stay on top of the Atlantic.
It’s a division that just got more interesting. The Leafs now have a two-time Cup winner in net. The Panthers have a former Vezina candidate who knows Tkachuk’s game. Which team comes out ahead is anyone’s guess right now.
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