Panthers introduce Matthew Tkachuk after blockbuster trade

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.

The easiest thing for the Florida Panthers this summer would have been to maintain the status quo, especially after posting the NHL’s best record.

The Panthers went a different way.

Matthew Tkachuk was introduced Monday as the team's newest addition, three days after the Panthers and Calgary completed a trade that sent Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, prospect Cole Schwindt and a conditional first-round draft pick to the Flames.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Matthew Tkachuk #19 of the Calgary Flames celebrates after scoring against the Edmonton Oilers during the third period of Game One of the Second Round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Saddledome on May 18, 2022 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (Derek Leung/Getty Images)

It was the latest big move for Florida, which earlier this summer hired Paul Maurice to take over for Andrew Brunette — a coach of the year finalist as an interim for the Panthers this past season — and now parts ways with both the franchise’s all-time leading scorer in Huberdeau and a defenseman in Weegar who led the team in skater minutes over the past two seasons.

"The changes we’ve made were made with the team and organization’s best interest at heart," Panthers general manager Bill Zito said. "And all for different reasons in each instance. In each instance, to be honest, we’ve acquired somebody who’s extraordinary."

The Panthers believe extraordinary is the right word for Tkachuk, a 24-year-old coming off his first 100-point season. The organization will never speak in anything but superlatives with regard to Huberdeau — Zito made sure to laud both him and Weegar in his opening