Matthew Tkachuk's Latest Update Brings Storyline Leafs Fans Can't Ignore

News broke on Friday that Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk underwent surgery recently and that he will be out for quite a while, as David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period believes he could be out until mid-January.

He was quick to mention that the timeline is unclear, and there really is a more wait and see approach to Tkachuk's recovery, and Florida would rather keep him off the ice as long as possible and make sure he is healthy before risking ruining him by rushing him.

Fans were chiming in regarding his potential return, with some remarking he could sit out until the playoffs; a noted shot at Florida's use of the LTIR to beef up their roster and use the lack of cap in the postseason.

Florida is going to still have their powerhouse team with Sam Bennett, Brad Marchand, Sam Reinhart and Aaron Ekblad amongst others, and the Atlantic is still going to be a tough fight with the Panthers in the thick of it.

But if he is going to be out for over half the season, that leaves a lot of leeway for the other teams like the Maple Leafs and Lightning to take advantage of a huge loss of offense and grittiness in Florida's lineup.

Tkachuk, 27, had 57 points in 52 games for the Panthers last season, missing time with the same injury he got surgery on. He ended up returning in the playoffs and scored 23 points in 23 games and helped the team win their second straight Cup.

For the Maple Leafs, if they can go all gas, no brakes from the start of game one of the regular season, it should play well into their success later on in the season.

They can't take any game for granted, and if there are easily winnable games they can't get complacent and let things slip away. Every game matters, and if the team isn's solely focused on making sure they build a comfortable lead in the division, then when Tkachuk does come back; it's just going to make things harder.

As long as the team can rally together and make sure that they build a strong foundation heading into the Olympic break, the potential return of Tkachuk is going to sting less.