“I think he represents, in a lot of ways, the identity of the team and what we are trying to become as a group,” U.S. coach Mike Sullivan said. “He’s a fierce competitor. He has incredible care for his teammates.
“We certainly missed him in the 4 Nations final.”
Florida Panthers GM Bill Zito is part of the U.S. management group and is at the camp here in Michigan, but Guerin said he has not pressed him regarding Tkachuk’s status.
“I don’t push Billy, it’s his player,” Guerin said. “But Matthew is a huge part of what we’re trying to do here and he’s on (the roster) until he’s not.”
Tkachuk was limited to 57 points (22 goals, 35 assists) in 52 games last season, missing the rest of the regular season after the 4 Nations Face-Off.
He returned for the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on April 22 and played all 23 postseason games, tying forwards Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe for the team lead in points with 23 (eight goals, 15 assists).
“I wouldn’t be here without the trainers and the doctors and those people, and that’s what makes this Cup more special for me is how hard it was just to be out there and to get to the point of playing,” Tkachuk said June 18.
“I owe those guys. This Cup is because of them for me, and I’m so lucky.”
Tkachuk scored what would prove to be the Cup-winning goal when he gave the Panthers a 2-0 lead with 47 seconds left in the first period against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. He said he wasn’t sure whether he would be ready for the start of the playoffs even a few days before they began.
“He was a mess,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said at the time. “That’s the medical term. He was a mess.
“Matthew’s played with some injuries. We weren’t hopeful at the start that he would survive the first round. Just didn’t think he could do it, but what he does so well is he’s so smart. He managed himself around the ice and around the game that he could still produce, but he wasn’t taking hits, and he wasn’t giving hits. He was in open ice.
“Then he just kind of slowly built that and slowly got a little more … the closer we got toward the end of the final, it didn’t matter. Tears it off the bone again, fine, come back in January. Just would help the team win. And his last four games for me were the four best games he’s played for the Florida Panthers.”
The United States is looking to win gold at the Olympics for the first time since the “Miracle On Ice” in 1980.
NHL players participated in the Olympics five times from 1998 to 2014; the U.S. won silver in 2002 (Salt Lake City) and 2010 (Vancouver), losing to Canada in the final each time.