EA Sports has chosen Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk as the cover athlete for the latest installment of their video game series, NHL 26.
Tkachuk, a back-to-back Stanley Cup champion, is the first Panthers player to receive the honor since goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck was chosen to grace the cover of NHL 97. While you’ll be able to play the most recent edition of the game on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, the consoles in Vanbiesbrouck’s era included the Sega Genesis, the first PlayStation, the SNES, and the Sega Saturn.
Tkachuk, 27, has played a massive part in helping the Panthers to their two straight championships, recording 45 points (14 goals, 31 assists) in 47 playoff games over the past two years. The Scottsdale, Arizona native scored the Cup-winning goal for Florida during their 2025 championship series against the Edmonton Oilers.
The former sixth overall draft selection of the Calgary Flames had his career-best year with the Panthers during the 2022-23 season, recording 109 points (40g, 69a) in 79 games. He has also become a key component of Team USA, notably fighting Canada’s Brandon Hagel off the opening faceoff in the two rivals’ first matchup during the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.
During the 2025 playoffs, Tkachuk played through a torn adductor muscle and sports hernia injury that will require surgery to repair this summer. According to Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos, Tkachuk could be out of action through the Christmas break next season.
Tkachuk received the cover spot over someone like Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin despite Ovechkin becoming the NHL’s top goal scorer this past year. We put together a few examples on our Instagram of what the cover could have looked like if EA Sports had gone with Ovechkin or one of his Capitals teammates.
The full NHL 26 reveal is scheduled to take place on Wednesday.
Update 8/6: EA Sports dropped the full release trailer.
The worldwide release date for the game is confirmed to be on September 12. If you buy the deluxe version of the game, you will get access to the game a week earlier.
The deluxe version also has a different cover, featuring Matthew Tkachuk, Brady Tkachuk, and their father, Keith Tkachuk.
