Brady Tkachuk Says It Was 100 Percent His Decision to Leave Ottawa. He Comes Back Tonight With Six Goals in Four Games.
Brady Tkachuk plays in Ottawa tonight for the first time since he asked to leave, and on Wednesday he made clear that nobody made the decision for him.
Senators owner Michael Andlauer told The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun last month that “blood is thicker than water, and let’s just say that his father and his brother got in his kitchen,” pinning the trade request on Keith and Matthew Tkachuk. Brady’s answer, from the visitors’ side at Canadian Tire Centre: “I saw the quote, and I mean he’s entitled to his opinion. But I know for myself, it was 100% my decision. I’m a big boy, I can make decisions for myself and my family.”
On why he would not sign again in Ottawa, he has been consistent and vague. “There’s professional reasons, personal reasons why I wasn’t going to re-sign here,” he said. He told general manager Steve Staios what those reasons were and has not told anyone else.
What Ottawa gave up and what it got
Florida acquired Tkachuk on June 21 for the ninth and 25th picks in the 2026 draft, a 2027 second-rounder and a top-10 protected 2029 first. No players went the other way. He was not a pending free agent: two years remained on the seven-year, $57.5 million deal he signed with Ottawa in October 2021, worth about $8.2 million a season, and he waived a full no-movement clause to go play with his brother.
Ottawa flipped the ninth pick to San Jose two days later for William Eklund, who is 23 and had 53 points last season. Eklund has two points in four games and is out 10 to 12 weeks with an ankle injury.
He is playing like the trade was a steal
Tkachuk did not record a point in his first five games as a Panther. Then he put up 10 in his next four, including consecutive hat tricks, and was named the NHL’s First Star of the Week. He arrives in Ottawa with six goals and four assists in nine games.
His Senators record stands on its own: eight seasons, 572 games, 213 goals, 463 points, fourth in franchise history in goals and fifth in points. He was named captain in November 2021 at 22, the youngest in team history, and wore the C for five seasons.
Expect boos, and he is fine with that
Tkachuk was already booed in Ottawa during the Winter Games, when he said he was “public enemy number one” in the city. An independent league baseball team in town ran a “Forget Brady” promotion in July. He says he is putting no expectations on tonight.
“If they boo, well, it just shows the passion that they have for their team, their city,” he said Monday. “I loved playing in front of them because of that passion.” And on his eight years: “Just know I gave every ounce of blood, sweat and tears for that team, that city, for eight years. I can hold my head up high for the effort that I gave.”
He also handled the jersey question before anyone could turn it into a story. Per ESPN, any Senators sweater of his that gets thrown on the ice will be collected and donated to Ottawa’s Boys and Girls Club. Team president Cyril Leeder has confirmed the Senators will play a tribute video for him.
The hockey still matters here. Ottawa is 6-3-0 with Thomas Chabot now wearing the C and Travis Green signed through 2031. Florida is 5-2-2. Both teams sit on 12 points in a tight Atlantic Division. Puck drops at 7:30 p.m. ET, and the loudest part of the night will probably arrive before anyone touches it.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
