EDMONTON -- Matthew Tkachuk had just arrived in South Florida. He was staying at a hotel and picking up dinner after the Calgary Flames traded him to the Florida Panthers on July 22, 2022, when someone asked him what he did for work.

“Well, I play hockey,” he said.

“Hockey? In Florida?” the person said. “You must [stink].”

Tkachuk laughed as he shared that anecdote Tuesday. The forward was sitting on a podium at Stanley Cup Final Media Day. Looming to his left was a huge photo of him hoisting the Stanley Cup last year.

Times have changed.

“I have more people come up to me now than in most cities, if not all,” he said. “Like, that’s how much hockey has grown. Hockey, it’s kind of turned into the No. 1 sport there, and it’s been so fun to be a part of.”

This is the golden age of hoc

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