BRADY TKACHUCK’S DEPARTURE IS NO LOSS FOR THE SENATORS

Ottawa Senators fans are mad at Brady Tkachuk and they have every right to be. But not for a second should they bemoan his “loss.”

Tkachuk is a good hockey player, and I’d be happy to have him on my team, that is if he wasn’t such an asshole.

And that assholiness went full volume back during the Four Nations series a couple of years back where the rivalry between the Canada and United States hockey programs clashed twice, in the round-robin stage and in the tournament final.

His brother Matthew, an equally gifted asshole, decided he needed to fight Brandon Hagel right off the opening face-off in the round-robin match-up between the two nations. Now make no mistake, Hagel was all for it, probably given that he’s a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning, a team that absolutely hates their state rivals, Matthew’s Florida Panthers.

Brady Tkachuck was the biggest cheerleader for that contest, so much so that he challenged Sam Bennet to a fight on the very next face-off. “Benny! Benny! It’s you and me next!” And Benny complied, and we had our second fight in the opening seconds of the game. Then we got to watch the Tkachuk brothers hamming it up in the penalty box, while cameras spotted their father in the crowd roaring his approval.

The fact that both Tkachuk brothers are world-class and gifted assholes is because the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. Keith Tkachuk is an even bigger asshole than either one of his sons. But don’t worry, the boys still have the time and inclination to surpass the level of his ugliness, something that would make their pops proud I’m sure.

But Brady seemed to really get into the Canada-bashing this past Olympics. He was an absolute poster boy for all that is wrong with America right now, with their smugness, arrogance, and downright hostility directed more towards friends than enemies. The youngest brother appeared to go all Donald Trump at a time when Trump is busy kicking the shit out of us up here north of the border with his ridiculous tariffs.

It comes as no surprise to me that young Brady has no problem with Agent Orange and his angry and corrupt regime. And why would he? He’s just another rich American who wants to wave the flag around as cover for his boorish thinking and behaviour.

As soon as I saw his conduct during the Olympics, I knew he wasn’t long for Ottawa, just because of that. But when he sat there on his podcast with his brother and said nothing while his obnoxious father slagged Senator’s goaltender Linus Ulmark for not being in the lineup for “personal” reasons — mental health reasons — he crossed a line that even his teammates couldn’t accept.

Make no mistake. Not one tear was shed in the Ottawa dressing room when it was announced that he was traded, and that includes fellow American Jake Sanderson, who was also an Olympian but managed to do so without being a buffoon. Sanderson did his country proud, and performed his Olympic duties with grace. A perfect foil to the odious Tkachuks.

So Ottawa fans, do not regret this as a loss. This guy was bad for the dressing room and it’s good that he’s gone. Good riddance is something that comes to mind.

His so-called “loss” is overblown.

He played in 60 of Ottawa’s 82 games, mostly as a result of the way he plays, which is recklessly. His stat line is 22 goals and 37 assists for 57 points, which admittedly is solid for 60 games, but you need that production over a full season. William Eklund, who the Senators got from San Jose for trading the pick Florida gave them in the trade for Tkachuk, is more than capable of reaching those statistical numbers on his own. No, Eklund does not bring the physicality of Tkachuk, but that might be the reason he’s on the ice for more of these upcoming 84 games.

The Senators got three first-round picks and a second-round pick for Tkachuk, even though he indicated that Florida was the only place he’d agree to go to, since that’s where big-brother Matthew plays. The Sens traded one of those 2026 first rounders to get Eklund from the Sharks, in addition to prospects Kasper Halttunen and Brandon Svoboda. And with the 25th overall pick, also from Florida, they selected Swedish prospect Jonas Lagerberg Hoen.

Ottawa also know owns Florida’s second-round pick in 2027 and their conditional first-rounder in 2029.

Another thing to consider is the way Brady Tkachuk plays the game. As I said, I’d love to have him on my team, minus the character flaws. But the reality is that both Tkachuk brothers are prone to injury because of the crash and bang style they both play. Plus every other tough guy in the league has an elbow targeted at any and all Tkachuk faces. When you live by the sword, you might just get a sword coming back at you some day. And believe me, they will, since they’re probably the most hated players in the league, something the Panthers like to load up on.

So Brady, whether in Ottawa or anywhere else, is bound to miss all kinds of time due to injuries. These are not nice men, the Tkachuks. Other not-nice men want to hurt them. Even nice men do. Brady will be on the IR plenty as time moves forward. And what good is that to any team, really? Yes he’s close to a point/game player, but if he only plays 60-70% of the schedule, what good does that do anyone?

In my view, Ottawa has a legitimate player in Eklund, and he’s not the kind of guy that’s going to piss off his teammates. He’s also the kind of player who could suit up for the full 84 games, mostly because he’s not an asshole. He has legitimate talent and he will more than cover Tkachuk’s point totals, even if he takes all 84 games to do it. And to be honest, I see Eklund as a legitimate 70 point player moving forward, especially if he skates anywhere near Tim Stutzle. Ottawa has enough offensive players where a guy like Eklund will thrive. The only thing you’ll miss by trading Brady is his 813 minutes in the penalty box over the course of his career, 71 of these last year in 60 games. He may not have been a true point/game player, but he’s always going to be a penalty minute/game player, which can be a team liability.

We don’t know what these picks or prospects will yield for the Senators, but Eklund, two prospects, a first-rounder in Lagerberg-Hoen, and another first and a second-rounder in the next couple of years seems to me to be more than appropriate for trading Tkachuck to South Florida.

That’s six players for Brady, and one of them is an already established young player in Eklund who I think Ottawa fans will appreciate as soon a s they see him. As for the other five, if any one of them pops, or lands, then Ottawa may well have come out on top of this deal.

While Brady passes his time in the hospital or in the trainer’s room doing rehab on some catastrophic injury brought on by his style of play and his own disagreeable temperament.

Trust me Sens Nation. You won’t miss this guy at all. And a couple of years from now you might just assess this trade differently.