"One of the worst trade ever!" "And the rest is history": NHL fans react to two-year anniversary of Florida Panthers' historic Matthew Tkachuk trade

On July 22, 2022, the Florida Panthers acquired Matthew Tkachuk from the Calgary Flames. In return, they sent Jonathan Huberdeau to Calgary. Tkachuk's contract with the Panthers lasts until the 2029–30 season and is worth $76 million over eight years.

On Monday, Sportsnet discussed the importance of this trade in a post on X (formerly Twitter), noting,

"Two years ago, the Panthers secured a key player in Matthew Tkachuk."

Seeing Sportsnet's post, NHL fans started reacting to it on X.

"And the rest is history," one fan said.

"One of the worst trade ever! And for one of the most overrated player….. Huberdeau! Wow….. what a major mistake from the Flames!," another fan commented.

"And yet the Leafs were scared of trading Nylander and Marner. Two bums come playoff time," one X user said.

Take a look at some more reactions from fans on X.

"Just shows you what one major trade can do to shake up a team. You’d think Toronto would realize that by now," one fan said.

"Huberdeau sucks," a fan tweeted.

"I remember people were saying CGY won the trade… mmm," one fan commented.

Matthew Tkachuk’s Stanley Cup adventure

After their Game 7 win, the Florida Panthers took the Stanley Cup from Amerant Bank Arena to Matthew Tkachuk’s home in Fort Lauderdale.

After a few hours of celebrations, Tkachuk and his teammates took the Cup to Elbo Room on Fort Lauderdale Beach. At dawn, they decided to dip the Cup into the Atlantic Ocean.

Despite his excitement, Tkachuk later learned that salt water could damage the Cup and admitted he didn’t know this at the time.

“I did not know that wasn't allowed, I promise you,” Tkachuk said (KSDK News). “It was the day after I won, I still hadn’t slept at that point, and it was just me and a few of my teammates.

"We had nobody with us to say, ‘Matthew, don't be an idiot. Don't do that.’ So I thought it was fitting, but if I would have known I wasn't supposed to do it, I wouldn't have done it, but also, I think it's pretty funny,” Tkachuk continued.

Speaking to the media at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, Tkachuk said his brother Brady came up with the idea and he hadn't credited Brady initially.

“My brother was like, ‘The ocean's right there, why don't you just go take it in there right now,’” Matthew added. “I'm like, ‘That's a great idea. We'll go do that.’ I guess I didn't give him credit when I first got asked about it, and he was pretty upset with me, so there, he gets the credit for that,” he added.

Matthew Tkachuk joked about the incident and admitted the mistake but they enjoyed the fun they had with the Cup.