Tkachuk, 27, said earlier this month that he expected to miss "the first two or maybe three months" of the 2025-26 NHL regular season if he decided to undergo a procedure, a decision he was still debating at the time. The Panthers winger revealed after last season that he sustained a torn adductor muscle and a sports hernia injury while playing for Team USA in the 4 Nations Face-Off in February. He missed the final 25 games of the NHL regular season but returned for Game 1 of the Panthers' first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning.