Two months after Brady Tkachuk said he was fully committed to the Ottawa Senators, he finds himself in sunny Florida, donning the #8 jersey to team up with his brother, Matthew Tkachuk.
On the eve of Father’s Day, Florida Panthers general manager Bill Zito stunned the hockey world by swinging a box-office trade for Tkachuk. While few saw this trade coming this early in the offseason, more eyebrows were raised at the price Florida had to pay to bring Brady Tkachuk to town.
On this week’s episode of their Wingmen podcast, Matthew Tkachuk also had a thing or two to say about how Florida went about pulling off this move.
Matthew Tkachuk’s Take on Panthers’ Offer in Brady Tkachuk Trade Turns Heads
The Florida Panthers sent the #9 overall and #25 overall pick in this year’s draft to Ottawa, in addition to a conditional 2029 first-round pick and a 2030 second-round pick. That conditional first-rounder is top-10 protected in 2029, but converts to a non-protected pick in 2030.
With those picks in hand, Ottawa now has three first-round picks in this year’s draft, after they were handed back their own first-rounder in this year’s draft.
Speaking on their weekly Wingmen podcast, here’s what Matthew Tkachuk had to say about the trade haul.
“Our team needs this. We have to take a step. You don’t just continue having the exact same success by keeping things the exact same. You need fresh blood every year. You look at the last few years, we’ve got somebody each year to raise that level of intensity.
“It’s just an unbelievable job that Brady’s coming in without anybody leaving. It’s just unreal to me. Our whole team’s excited, but we need Brady. We need him bad.”
Brady Tkachuk has now wrapped up his Senators tenure by featuring in 572 NHL games, with 213 goals and 463 points, including a career-high 37 goals and 74 points in 2023-24.
He missed a large chunk of this season owing to a thumb surgery, but finished the campaign with 22 goals and 59 points in 60 games. The former Senators captain came in for some criticism after failing to have an impact on Ottawa’s playoffs as they were swept in the first round by the Carolina Hurricanes.
KEEP READING: ‘I Would Not Rule The Panthers Out’: After Brady Tkachuk, Florida In The Running For Another Team USA Star
Why Florida Had To Give Up Four Picks For Brady Tkachuk
Per multiple reports, Senators general manager Steve Staios wanted an NHL-ready player as part of the trade package. However, his Florida counterpart essentially declared 24-year-old center Anton ‘Baby Barkov’ Lundell a no-fly zone.
Considering they didn’t get an NHL-ready player back, Hall of Famer Chris Pronger called the situation less than ideal; however, Staios appears intent on aggressively shopping those picks in the trade market.
In fact, during a press conference on Monday, when asked about those picks, Staios’ phone rang, as if on cue.
The Senators have made it a point to declare that the team will not be taking a step back and have since been linked with a whole world of trade candidates.
