SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Seth Jones impressed his Florida Panthers teammates in his debut Monday night, but it's anyones guess when Matthew Tkachuk will be sharing the ice with his newest teammate.
Jones played just under 23 minutes and nearly scored a goal in the defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers' 2-1 win over their in-state rival Tampa Bay Lightning.
“He’s an unbelievable skater, a great guy," said goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who stopped 28 shots to help the Panthers stretch their win streak to four games. “Played well both sides of the puck. I’m excited to have him. He's a great addition to our team.”
Earlier Monday, the Panthers confirmed that their star forward Tkachuk is on long-term injured reserve with a lower-body injury. That means he won't be back for a few weeks — and possibly not until the postseason.
“Matthew's going to be out for an extended period of time,” Panthers general manager and hockey operations president Bill Zito said at Jones' introductory news conference. “We hope to get him back for the playoffs. You have a projection, you have a diagnosis and a rehab course of action. How and where and in what manner is the progress of that rehab is yet to be determined.”
Losing Tkachuk, who hasn't played since the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament last month, is a big blow. Adding Jones, the stellar defenseman who was acquired over the weekend in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks, is a big boost.
“I wanted to play for a contender and Florida was obviously at the top of my list when it came to that,” said Jones, who hasn’t appeared in a playoff game since 2020. “I want to fit in with this team, be a part of the system, come and bring my game, play hard defensively, help a little bit offensively, really just fit into the system and bring what I can, whatever’s asked of me.”
Panthers fans were excited before the five-time all-star even took the ice Monday night — they welcomed Jones with a fervent applause and ovation when he was announced in the starting lineup at Florida's Amerant Bank Arena.
And they roared again when Jones nearly scored a goal in the second period.
The plan was to ease him into things while he learns the Eastern Conference and some new systems, but in a tight game between two bitter rivals, Jones got plenty of special teams action and helped Florida kill off seven penalties.
“He’s gonna be really good for us," coach Paul Maurice said. “Moves the puck clean, and he’s got a set of hands on him. So I thought for flying in yesterday to get here, and then everything (being) brand new, mostly he’s playing on instinct out there ... I was really pleased.”
Few Panthers players know what Jones can bring more than Bobrovsky, who played alongside him on the Columbus Blue Jackets from the 2015-16 season to 2018-19.
“He still was amazing,” Bobrovsky recalled. “And, you know, he was an amazing skater. He was smart. It was a privilege to play with him. And I’m so, so happy to reunite with him again.”
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Tim Reynolds And Alanis Thames, The Associated Press
