Every NHL season there are always favourites and there are always those who may have had an impressive run in a prior season, but have failed to leave a lasting impact in recent years-melted ice or faded memory. You get the gist. And while in 2024 when Matthew Tkachuk played a big role in the Florida Panthers’ bagging of the Stanley Cup, this year, his physical presence was less felt owing to the fact that he suffered a lower body injury during the 4 Nations Face Off earlier in the year.
In fact, until right before the playoffs, it was unclear whether Tkachuk would be able to make it at all. He did, however, with his personality bigger than ever, the Panthers won, and Tkachuk has been attached at the hip to the Stanley Cup that he’s been parading across the country. All this and rightly dubbed as the Panthers’ poster boy are perhaps the reasons for EA Sports chose Matthew Tkachuk lifting the cup as the front cover of their NHL 2026 video game.
In fact, Tkachuk is the first player in over a decade to be seen lifting the Stanley Cup on the cover of the famous game, the last being Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews, who did it in 2015. He is also the first Panthers player to be on the cover since John Vanbiesbrouck.
He’s loud. He’s relentless. He’s a problem. Now he’s the face of the game.
See the full #NHL26 reveal August 6th: https://t.co/dXmeA7gpdw pic.twitter.com/2s2cneeJMs
— EA SPORTS NHL (@EASPORTSNHL) August 4, 2025
It isn’t just EA Sports that has made Matthew Tkachuk the face of the NHL. The Panthers made 3 Stanley Cup final appearances and two consecutive wins. It may come across as the Panthers’ newfound success for 2 consecutive years is directly proportional to Tkachuk’s trade to the Panthers from the Flames in the 2022-2023 season. We see how easy it is to get to that conclusion. That would be reason enough to choose him as the face of the franchise and, in turn, the video game that is honouring the same. But fans, however, feel a tad bit differently.
Fans react to Matthew Tkachuk’s EA Sports NHL 2026 cover
In fact, fans feel so disgruntled that many are threatening to stop giving EA sports business, with one fan writing, “Absolute disgrace. I have bought every game for years and this will be the first I pass on” Tkachuk has often been a contentious figure in the world of NHL, a lot of this is owing to his outspoken and wild attitude that some believe disrespects an age old hockey culture. For example, earlier this year when he took the Stanley Cup to a jail and did an impromptu photoshoot, a lot of fans thought this didn’t align with traditions.
Other fans still simply believed other players were better representatives of the Florida Panthers, their captain Aleksander Barkov, for example, with one fan simply writing, “should have been Barkov.” The very fact that Barkov has won the Selke Trophy for being the best defensive forward three times, including this past season, should be reason enough to commemorate this quiet force of a captain.
Other fans still relied on the stats: “Hasn’t scored 30 goals or 90 points in 2+ years. Will miss more than half the upcoming season. EA sports just can’t stop missing” It’s true, Tkachuk’s injury really put him out of commission for a large part of the season and may even affect his ability to play on the national team in the 2026 Winter Olympics. Among other contentions, the Panthers placing Matthew Tkachuk on LTIR has also come under the radar multiple times as the franchise toeing the line.
Another player resorted to hyperbole, writing, “I can think of at least 48 better players who could’ve been the cover.” 48 might be a bit of a stretch, but the point was made clear.
And finally, there was another fan who offered two other viable options: “Bennett or Marchand deserved it more if we’re being real.” In terms of carrying the Florida Panther’s this year, it wasn’t a one man job, for sure, but Sam Bennett was scoring goals like nobody’s business and the Brad Marchand addition offered the team a literal tank on their front end who made things very difficult for opponents, so really, was Matthew Tkachuk the best choice to represent the currently reigning team?”
We’re not going to dip our fingers in this debate, but we definitely understand the fans’ perspective. After all, that’s what we’re all about. What do you think about Tkachuk’s face plastered across a video game? Aye or Nay? Toss us a comment.
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