Overview

• EA Sports announced on August 4 that Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk will appear on the standard cover of NHL 26, his first video game cover honor.
• He becomes the first Florida Panthers player to grace an EA NHL cover since goalie John Vanbiesbrouck on NHL 97 in 1997.
• The cover image features Tkachuk lifting the Stanley Cup in celebration of Florida’s back-to-back championships in 2024 and 2025.
• EA Sports has scheduled a full reveal trailer for August 6 and confirmed a September release window for NHL 26.
• Tkachuk is rehabbing surgery to repair a torn adductor and sports hernia and could miss the early portion of the 2025–26 season.