Sunrise, Fla. – Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk won a gold medal for the United States at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics with a 2-1 overtime victory over Canada today at Santa Giulia Arena in Milan, Italy. Panthers Director of Hockey Operations and General Manager Bill Zito and Head Equipment Manager Teddy Richards served on the American staff.
Tkachuk becomes the first player in franchise history to win an Olympic gold medal while playing for the Florida Panthers. He ranked second in the nation behind Quinn Hughes (1-7-8) with six assists (0-6-6). His six helpers also ranked fourth among all skaters in the tournament.
Panthers forwards Sam Bennett (0-1-1), Brad Marchand (0-1-1) and Sam Reinhart (1-1-2) won silver medals for Canada. Reinhardt scored the goal that started Canada’s comeback in the semifinals against Finland.
Panthers forwards Anton Lundell and Ietu Luostarinen and defenseman Niko Mikkola won bronze medals with their native Finland, and Panthers assistant coach Tuomo Lutu served on Finland’s coaching staff. Florida’s seven medalists are the most in Olympic franchise history and surpass the previous record of five at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.
The Panthers had a league-leading 10 players and five staff members representing their countries at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.
player
Etu Luostarinen (Finland)
staff
Bill Zito (Assistant General Manager – USA) Teddy Richards (Equipment Manager – USA) Tuomo Ruutu (Assistant Coach – Finland) Myles Fee (Video Coach – Sweden) Jamie Kompon (Assistant Coach – Germany)
The Florida Panthers return to action against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Amerant Bank Arena on Thursday, February 26th at 7pm ET on Scripps Sports and Panthers Plus.
