Florida Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk is attempting to become the first American-born member of hockey’s Triple Gold Club by joining Team USA at the IIHF world championships, which are scheduled for May 15-31 in Zurich and Fribourg, Switzerland, the report says.
With an IIHF world championship victory, Tkachuk would complete the Triple Gold Club, a group for players who have won gold at the world championships, the Winter Olympics and the Stanley Cup, per the report.
Tkachuk is already a two-time Stanley Cup champion, winning back-to-back titles with the Panthers in 2024 and 2025, and he helped Team USA win Olympic men’s hockey gold at the Milan Cortina Games, defeating Canada in overtime. The report notes the Americans are trying to repeat as world champions after winning the tournament for the first time in 92 years last season.
The report says there are only 30 players in the Triple Gold Club, representing five nations: Canada, Sweden, Russia, Czechia and Finland. It adds that three current NHL players in the club are Canadian — Sidney Crosby, Corey Perry and Jonathan Toews — and that Jaromir Jagr, representing Czechia, is also a member and remains an active player outside the NHL.
This will be Tkachuk’s first time playing at the IIHF world championships. The tournament is held at the same time as the NHL’s Stanley Cup playoffs, so players on teams making deep postseason runs often do not participate; the report also cites injuries, family time and contract considerations as reasons some NHL players skip worlds. With the Panthers out of the playoff picture and Tkachuk feeling healthy, he opted to join the U.S. squad.
Tkachuk told ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show,” “I sure as hell hope so. I’m not going over there for a vacation.” He added that the pride from winning Olympic gold still lingers and said he was “really excited to go,” per the report.
