Stanley Cup champion reveals the gruesome injuries he played through to lift the trophy

Florida Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk has revealed that he played through the entire Stanley Cup playoffs with a torn adductor muscle and a hernia. 

Tkachuk did not miss a single game during the four rounds of Panthers' success, with the onset of the two gruesome injuries appearing to be the end of the regular season or early in the playoffs. 

The Team USA star admitted to not being at full health moments after the Panthers secured their second consecutive championship over the Edmonton Oilers. 

Tkachuk had three goals and seven points in the Stanley Cup Finals, not dipping below his All-Star expectations. 

'I tore my adductor off the bone and then had some hernia thing, all on the same side,' Tkachuk said, still on the ice during championship celebrations. 'Wanted to throw in the towel a bunch of times.'

'I gotta thank a lot of people for getting me healthy enough. I'm sure I wasn't the easiest to deal with. My fiance did a great job at the house on the days where I probably wasn't in the best mood. Coming to the rink, the trainers, maybe when I probably wasn't in best mood when I was in pain. I just owe them so much, the doctors.' 

'I really didn't think I'd be playing, or at least playing to my capabilities. The longer the playoffs went, the better I felt. I owe that to the guys for giving me some wiggle room to feel good.' 

Tkachuk will have plenty of time to recover before Florida goes for the NHL's first three-peat since the New York Islanders won four Stanley Cups in a row in the early 1980s. 

The 27-year-old will be keen on getting back to full strength ahead of next season, where the NHL season will be stopped midway through to allow players to compete in the Olympics. 

Tkachuk was one of six players named to the United States' preliminary squad for next year's Winter Olympiad in Italy, with younger brother Brady Tkachuk, who plays for the Ottawa Senators, also making the cut. 

Fellow Panthers Sam Reinhart and Aleksander Barkov also played through significant injuries in the playoffs.  

Reinhart had an MCL sprain he played through since the Eastern Conference Finals against the Carolina Hurricanes. He scored four goals in the championship-clinching win. 

Barkov sliced his hand open during Game 1 against the Hurricanes, with the sutures being torn out twice.