Tkachuk honored to celebrate Cup with father Keith: 'It was a dream'
Matthew Tkachuk had never seen his father, former NHL enforcer Keith Tkachuk, shed a tear.
Until the Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup in June.
"I've never seen him cry in my life. I swear to God I've never seen him cry," Matthew said during an appearance on the "Jim Rome Show" on Thursday. "He was bawling his eyes out like a big baby in the stands as those few minutes went by after we won. A picture's worth a thousand words, and I saw everything I needed to see right there.
"The emotion from my family. ... It was something that I'll never forget."
A veteran of 1,201 NHL games (complete with 2,219 penalty minutes), Keith never lifted the Stanley Cup. The closest he came was during a run to the conference finals as a member of the St. Louis Blues in 2001.
Matthew, who was 12 years old when Keith retired from the NHL in 2010, was honored to celebrate his achievement with his father.
"It was a dream," he said. "Me handing the Cup to my dad when all the family came on the ice was one of the highlights of my entire life."
Though the Panthers have been taking Lord Stanley around the world as part of their festivities, they almost let the moment slip away. Florida held a 3-0 series lead in the Stanley Cup Final, but the Edmonton Oilers won three straight games to force Game 7.
Matthew said his dad and brother Brady Tkachuk were key in getting him in the right mindset for the decisive contest.
"When I left my house for Game 7, my dad and my brother both walked me to the car, their arms on my back, just (telling me) little one-liners, 'Enjoy it,' everything," he said. "I don't even remember what they were really saying, if I'm being honest, but I remember getting in my car, backing out of my driveway, and it just hit me right there as I'm leaving my house: I'm not only winning this tonight for (my teammates) ... but I want to do it for my dad and my brother as well.
"That was like a full-circle moment for me."
The gritty forward chipped in with six goals and 22 points in 24 games to help the Cats clinch their first-ever championship.
Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said Wednesday that winning the Cup only "leaves you hungry" for another, and his teammate shared a similar sentiment on Thursday.
"Throughout my whole career, I've always said, 'Oh, I've just gotta win one and then you'll be set.' ... I couldn't have been so wrong with saying that," the older Tkachuk brother said. "I'm almost greedier, like I want it more."
He added: "I don't feel like I'm even in my prime yet, so hopefully I've got a lot of great years ahead. I want to win again more than anything in the world. I got that taste, it's like an addiction. I want it again."