The Florida Panthers’ quest to repeat as Stanley Cup champions has taken a major hit. After injuring his groin in the 4 Nations Face-Off, the Panthers announced star forward Matthew Tkachuk has been placed on LTIR and will likely be out until the Stanley Cup Playoffs. “Matthew’s going to be out for an extended period of time. We hope to get him back for the playoffs,” Panthers general manager Bill Zito said, per Jameson Olive of the Panthers official website.In addition to Tkachuk, a few other teams are dealing with significant injuries on their blue line. The New York Rangers and Nashville Predators are among them with Adam Fox and Roman Josi banged up.Fox, the 2021 Norris Trophy winner, left Tuesday’s game against the Islanders with an upper-body injury. The team has since placed him on injured reserve, although he is expected back before the regular season is over. Fox has easily been the Rangers’ best defenseman, and the team will miss his steady two-way presence as it fights for a playoff spot.
The Predators aren’t in the playoff race, but their chances of finishing strong just got a lot worse with Roman Josi exiting their loss to the Panthers last week. Josi was hit from behind by Sam Bennett, and his head went into the glass. Josi, also a Norris Trophy winner, isn’t having his best season but remains the straw that stirs the drink in Nashville.A couple more defensemen, including Charlie McAvoy (Bruins) and Shea Theodore (Golden Knights) are still feeling the effects of the 4 Nations Face-Off. McAvoy has an infection stemming from a shoulder injury, and Theodore is week-to-week with a wrist injury.Here is a list of many of the marquee players that are currently sidelined due to injury.
Brock McGinn (LW)Type of Injury: Torn ACLInjured Reserve: YesApproximate Return Date: 2025-26 seasonLast Played: 12/23/24Frank Vatrano (RW)Type of Injury: Upper-bodyInjured Reserve: YesApproximate Return Date: UnknownLast Played: 2/27/25Hampus Lindholm (D)Type of Injury:Â Lower-bodyInjured Reserve:Â YesApproximate Return Date:Â Unknown (expected to miss multiple weeks)Last Played:Â 11/12/24
Charlie McAvoy (D)Type of Injury:Â InfectionInjured Reserve:Â NoApproximate Return Date:Â UnknownLast Played: 2/8/25Justin Kirkland (C)Type of Injury: Lower-bodyInjured Reserve: YesApproximate Return Date: UnknownLast Played: 11/29/25Jesper Fast (RW)Type of Injury: NeckInjured Reserve: YesApproximate Return Date: UnknownLast Played: 4/16/24
Jason Dickinson (C)Type of Injury: AnkleInjured Reserve: YesApproximate Return Date: UnknownLast Played: 2/5/25Gabriel Landeskog (LW)Type of Injury: KneeInjured Reserve: YesApproximate Return Date: UnknownLast Played: 6/26/22Erik Gudbranson (D)Type of Injury: Upper-bodyInjured Reserve: YesApproximate Return Date: UnknownLast Played: 10/15/24
Yegor Chinakhov (RW)Type of Injury: Upper-bodyInjured Reserve: YesApproximate Return Date: UnknownLast Played: 11/27/24Sean Monahan (C)Type of Injury: WristInjured Reserve: YesApproximate Return Date: UnknownLast Played: 1/7/25Kevin Labanc (RW)Type of Injury: ShoulderInjured Reserve: YesApproximate Return Date: 2025-26 seasonLast Played: 2/4/25
Tyler Seguin (C)Type of Injury: HipInjured Reserve: YesApproximate Return Date: 4-6 monthsLast Played: 12/1/24Miro Heiskanen (D)Type of Injury: KneeInjured Reserve: NoApproximate Return Date:Â Month-to-monthLast Played: 1/28/25Nils Lundkvist (D)Type of Injury: Upper-bodyInjured Reserve: YesApproximate Return Date: UnknownLast Played: 1/21/25
Jeff Petry (D)Type of Injury: UndisclosedInjured Reserve: YesApproximate Return Date: UnknownLast Played: 1/2/25Andrew Copp (C)Type of Injury: PectoralInjured Reserve: YesApproximate Return Date: 2025-26 seasonLast Played: 2/22/25Evander Kane (LW)Type of Injury:Â Hip, hernia surgeriesInjured Reserve:Â YesApproximate Return Date:Â February 2025Last Played:Â 6/10/24
Florida PanthersMatthew Tkachuk (LW)Type of Injury:Â GroinInjured Reserve:Â Yes (LTIR)Approximate Return Date:Â Start of 2025 postseasonLast Played: 2/8/25Kirill Kaprizov (LW)Type of Injury: Lower-bodyInjured Reserve: YesApproximate Return Date: 4 weeksLast Played: 1/26/25Joel Eriksson Ek (C)Type of Injury: Lower-bodyInjured Reserve: YesApproximate Return Date: Week-to-weekLast Played: 2/22/25
Jakub Lauko (C)Type of Injury: Lower-bodyInjured Reserve: YesApproximate Return Date: UnknownLast Played: 2/4/25Kaiden Guhle (D)Type of Injury: QuadInjured Reserve: NoApproximate Return Date: UnknownLast Played: 1/28/25Roman Josi (D)Type of Injury: Upper-bodyInjured Reserve: NoApproximate Return Date: UnknownLast Played: 2/25/25Jeremy Lauzon (D)Type of Injury: Lower-bodyInjured Reserve: YesApproximate Return Date: 2025-26 seasonLast Played: 12/31/24Adam Wilsby (D)Type of Injury: Upper-bodyInjured Reserve: YesApproximate Return Date: 2025-26 seasonLast Played: 2/3/25Zachary L’Heureux (LW)Type of Injury: Upper-bodyInjured Reserve: YesApproximate Return Date: Week-to-weekLast Played: 2/7/25Jacob Markstom (G)Type of Injury: KneeInjured Reserve: NoApproximate Return Date: 4-6 weeksLast Played: 1/22/25Jonas Siegenthaler (D)Type of Injury: Lower-bodyInjured Reserve: YesApproximate Return Date: 2-3 weeksLast Played: 2/4/25Mike Reilly (D)Type of injury: Upper-bodyInjured Reserve: NoApproximate Return Date: Day-to-dayLast Played: 11/1/24Semyon Varlamov (G)Type of Injury: Lower-bodyInjured Reserve: YesApproximate Return Date: UnknownLast Played: 11/29/24Mat Barzal (C)Type of Injury: Lower-bodyInjured Reserve: YesApproximate Return Date: UnknownLast Played: 1/1/25Matt Martin (LW)Type of Injury: Lower-bodyInjured Reserve: YesApproximate Return Date: UnknownLast Played: 1/16/25New York RangersAdam Fox (D)Type of Injury: Upper-bodyInjured Reserve: YesApproximate Return Date: UnknownLast Played: 2/25/2025Chris Kreider (LW)Type of Injury: Upper-bodyInjured Reserve: YesApproximate Return Date: UnknownLast Played: 2/22/25Jacob Bernard-Docker (D)Type of Injury: AnkleInjured Reserve: YesApproximate Return Date: UnknownLast Played: 12/28/24Michael Bunting (LW)Type of Injury: AppendixInjured Reserve: YesApproximate Return Date: UnknownLast Played: 2/25/25Logan Couture (C)Type of injury: GroinInjured Reserve: YesApproximate Return Date: UnknownLast Played: 1/31/24Yanni Gourde (C)Type of Injury: Lower-bodyInjured Reserve: YesApproximate Return Date: UnknownLast Played: 1/2/25Torey Krug (D)Type of Injury: Ankle surgeryInjured Reserve: YesApproximate Return Date: 2025-26 seasonLast Played: 4/10/24Chris Tanev (D)Type of Injury: Upper-bodyInjured Reserve: NoApproximate Return Date: Day-to-dayLast Played: 2/25/25Calle Jarnkrok (C)Type of Injury: Lower-bodyInjured Reserve: YesApproximate Return Date: Late October 2024Last Played: 9/22/24Jani Hakanpaa (D)Type of Injury: Lower-bodyInjured Reserve: YesApproximate Return Date: UnknownLast Played: 11/16/24Robert Bortuzzo (D)Type of Injury: Lower-bodyInjured Reserve: YesApproximate Return Date: UnknownLast Played: 1/2/25Thatcher Demko (G)Type of Injury: Lower-bodyInjured Reserve: YesApproximate Return Date: Week-to-weekLast Played: 2/8/25Vegas Golden KnightsWilliam Karlsson (C)Type of Injury: Lower-bodyInjured Reserve; YesApproximate Return Date: Week-to-weekLast Played: 1/20/25Shea Theodore (D)Type of Injury: WristInjured Reserve: NoApproximate Return Date: Week-to-weekLast Played: 1/8/25Sonny Milano (LW)Type of Injury: Upper-bodyInjured Reserve: YesApproximate Return Date: Week-to-weekLast Played: 11/6/24