After landing Seth Jones in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday, the Florida Panthers freed up further cap space by placing star forward Matthew Tkachuk on long term injured reserve. Tkachuk suffered a groin injury while representing the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off and has not played in a game since returning to the Panthers.

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.