Matthew Tkachuk's mom Chantal Oster has thrown her hands up in the air after rigorous efforts to fix his peculiar mouth guard habit

By ARJUN B

Modified Dec 17, 2024 03:49 GMT

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Matthew Tkachuk's peculiar mouthguard chewing habit has left his mother Chantal Oster exasparated after years of trying to fix it. The Florida Panthers winger is renwned for constantly chewing on his mouthguard instead of wearing it properly during games.

Tkachuk discussed the habit ahead of Monday night's game between the Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place. He admitted that he goes through about one mouthguard per game due to all the chewing.

"Yeah, my mom did not like it at the start, but she's completely given up on it. Call it about eight years ago, nine years ago, when I came to the NHL, she gave up on it," Tkachuk said.

When asked about the purpose of wearing a mouthguard if it's never actually in his mouth, Tkachuk responded:

"I guess it doesn't really serve that much of a purpose all the time. I try to keep it in as best I can, but it's got a mind of its own, and it's everywhere. So I don't know. I think in the important times I have it in, but it's not all the time."

Teammates don't seem to mind the strange habit, but Tkachuk acknowledged that opposition players have tried to knock the mouthguard out of his mouth before.

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Matthew Tkachuk on returning to Edmonton after Stanley Cup Final

Matthew Tkachuk and the Panthers are back in Edmonton for the first time since Florida beat the Oilers in last season's Stanley Cup Final. The final went the distance before the Panthers secured the win.

Reflecting on his return to Edmonton, Matthew Tkachuk said that he has great memories from that Stanley Cup run.

"Great memories. It was, it was a time of our lives. It was, you know,something that you can't really describe. You know, how crazy those few weeks were, but how rewarding they were as well," Tkachuk said.

"So it's great coming back here. It just brings it right back up all those memories. And yeah,I'm sure it's gonna be a very intense game tonight."

The Oilers won five straight games and boast an 18-10-2 record this season. Meanwhile, the Panthers are looking to bounce back from two consecutive losses and are 18-11-2 on the season.

At the end of the second period, the Oilers lead 4-3 against the Panthers.