The groin injury has been aggravating Tkachuk since he sustained it during the 4 Nations Face-Off while playing for Team USA.
Sending Tkachuk to IR clears up $8.7 million in salary cap space for a team that just coincidentally traded for veteran defenceman Seth Jones from the Chicago Blackhawks, which will count for $7 million against their cap.
Should Tkachuk miss the rest of the regular season, Florida will be able to bring him back for the playoffs - a move organizations around the league have been doing for years now to boost their team while manoeuvring around the salary cap situation.
The other half of the Tkachuk brothers was having a solid season for the Panthers, putting up 22 goals and 35 assists in 52 games.
But now that he'll be able to rest for the remainder of the regular season, expect a fully-healthy Tkachuk come playoff time.