The most interesting development about Tkachuk’s placement on LTIR is that it frees up $9.5 million in cap space, setting up the Panthers to make additions ahead of Friday’s trade deadline, exploiting a widely-known NHL salary-cap loophole.

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

Dealing with a lower-body injury, Tkachuk has been ailing since the second game of the 4 Nations Face-Off when he missed the final 12:36 of a 3-1 win for Team USA over Canada. After having to sit out the final game of the round robin, Tkachuk took the ice for just 6:47 in a 3-2 overtime loss to Canada in the championship game on Feb. 20.