Veteran of the Battle of Alberta, Matthew Tkachuk returns to Edmonton as Public Enemy No. 1
-
Greg Wyshynski, ESPN
EDMONTON — Before Matthew Tkachuk was a star player for the Florida Panthers, he was the most hated man in Edmonton.
Tkachuk spent the first six seasons of this NHL career with the Calgary Flames, combating in the Battle of Alberta, the decades-spanning rivalry in which the Flames and the Edmonton Oilers would bludgeon each other to the delight of neighboring fan bases. It’s a feud that stands next to any geographic rivalry in sports based on its championship prestige, Hall of Fame talent and unwavering vitriol.
It most recently erupted again in 2020. It was Tkachuk who lit the fuse, with big hits and his trademark provocation.
“Since being in Edmonton, that was probably the most fun that the Battle of Alberta ever was,” said defenseman Darnell Nurse, who has played 10 seasons with the Oilers. “It was just the animosity, the heat that was going on between those teams. And he brought a lot of that.”
Tkachuk remembers those rivalry games well.
“I guess I know them more than probably most guys by playing in Calgary,” Tkachuk said. “But we just had the one playoff series against them that they won, and played a bunch in the regular season. There’s a lot of different guys over there now.”
Calgary traded Tkachuk to the Panthers two years ago. He has returned to Edmonton twice since.
“I know last year I was booed every time I touched the puck. This year there was nothing, so I have no idea this time,” he said.
His third reunion with Oilers fans will be Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Thursday night (8 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN+), with the Panthers up 2-0 in the series. It’s a moment that finds Tkachuk closing in on a championship, the Oilers desperate to stay alive and the scars from the Battle of Alberta aching for both of them.
“Whenever you get into those heated rivalries, someone’s going to be the face of it, inevitably,” Nurse said. “And he became that face.”
TKACHUK WAS 22 years old in 2020, having quickly earned a reputation as one of the NHL’s greatest agitators. He threw big hits. His mouth was a stream of unfiltered trash talk. He had 262 penalty minutes in his first 273 games. But what really ticked off opponents was another stat: His 212 career points in that span.
He was a player opponents simply hated, and hated that he was that good.
Tkachuk made some enemies early in his career. Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty called him “a dirty kid” and said, “I respect everyone else. I’ll never talk to him off the ice.”
But that was like exchanging friendship bracelets when compared to his heat with Oilers forward Zack Kassian.
Kassian was a physical enforcer and would line up next to Edmonton star Connor McDavid to watch his back. He relished the Battle of Alberta and finished his career with 126 penalty minutes against the Flames — 70 more minutes than he had against any other team.
The Flames hosted the Oilers on Jan. 11, 2020. Tkachuk targeted Kassian with two huge hits, the second one knocking off the Oilers forward’s helmet. Kassian responded by ripping off Tkachuk’s helmet, grabbing him by the neck of his jersey and pummeling him.
Kassian threw Tkachuk down to the ice twice, but the Flames forward wouldn’t engage in a fight. The linesmen finally stepped in.
Kassian was given a double minor penalty for roughing and a misconduct. Calgary scored on the ensuing power play to win the game 4-3.
The Battle of Alberta was reborn.
“If he doesn’t want to get hit, then stay off the tracks. I caught him three times there. You’d think he learned after the first one,” Tkachuk said after the game. “If he wants to react like that, we’ll take the power play and we’ll take the game winner and we’ll take first place.”
As for not dropping the gloves with Kassian?
“I’m not fighting him. Tough little trade-off there [for Edmonton],” Tkachuk added.
James Neal of the Oilers said: “You can ask any guy in hockey. No one wants to see that hit. He targets his head and takes him out. The whole thing is ridiculous, and the way he talks about it is just stupid.”
Tkachuk received criticism from outside the rivalry for his actions.
Former NHL goalie Corey Hirsch said they were “two reckless hits to the head” that forced Kassian “to take matters into his own hands.” Former NHL forward Ryan Kesler said, “You can’t just turtle like he did after you throw two clean but dirty hits. … I think everybody that knows the game of hockey thinks what Kassian did was right.”
Oilers fans got in on the act, too, posting turtle memes online about Tkachuk. A local Edmonton radio show created a parody song called “He’s a Turtle” with lyrics such as, “His gloves are glued on his hands / Now it’s pretty clear he’s hated by fans.”
Kassian had a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety. George Parros, NHL vice president of player safety, told him that both of Tkachuk’s hits were legal, before the department handed the Oilers forward a two-game suspension.
“I’d do it again. All over again. He messed with the wrong guy,” Kassian said. “Clean or dirty, if someone takes two runs at you on the blindside … if you’ve going to play big boy hockey, you have to answer the bell once in a while.”
Kassian said that Tkachuk’s refusal to answer for his actions was noticed around the league.
“He’s going to play the way he wants to play. If he just answers the bell right there, I don’t think anything ever happens,” he said. “And I think he might gain a percent of respect in the league.”
The next meeting between the Flames and Oilers was Jan. 29.
Or as one billboard put it, the next stop on the “Matthew Tkachuk Friendship Tour.”
Flames fan Mohammad Elsaghir started a GoFundMe to raise money for a billboard celebrating Tkachuk that would been seen in Edmonton. As money poured in, Elsaghir decided to pivot and use it as a fundraiser for ALS research, raising $25,000 in the process. A Calgary radio station stepped up and made the “Matthew Tkachuk Friendship Tour” a reality, and it ran about a week before the next meeting.
Late in the first period of the Jan. 29 matchup, Edmonton fans roared as Kassian and Tkachuk finally had their fight, with the Oilers brawler making quick work of the Flames forward.
But the bell that Tkachuk rung in the Battle of Alberta could not be unrung. The next meeting was Feb. 1 and featured a line brawl between the teams, with Tkachuk fighting Oilers defenseman Ethan Bear. It was best remembered for a goalie fight between Calgary’s Mike Smith and Edmonton’s Cam Talbot, to underscore the chaos.
“The Battle of Alberta was always intense, and then Chucky definitely brought a little extra spark to that,” said the Florida Panthers’ Sam Bennett, Tkachuk’s teammate now and also back then with the Flames. “Those are fun games to be a part of.”
Tkachuk’s rivalry with the Oilers would continue into his days with the Panthers. On Nov. 28, 2022, he made his first visit back to Edmonton as a member of Florida. He was booed whenever he touched the puck.
And in true Tkachuk fashion, he silenced the crowd with a first-period goal, and then taunted Edmonton fans by cupping his glove to his ear as he celebrated.
THE TALE OF Matthew Tkachuk vs. the Edmonton Oilers isn’t just one of contentious, violent rivalry.
It’s also one of the NHL’s greatest recent “what-ifs?”
Because in 2016, Tkachuk was one draft pick away from becoming an Oiler.
The first two picks in the draft that year were obvious: Center Auston Matthews was going first overall to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Finnish winger Patrik Laine was bound for the Winnipeg Jets.
The Columbus Blue Jackets held the third overall pick, and mock draft after mock draft predicted they’d select Finnish winger Jesse Puljujarvi. It was so expected that TSN ran an article titled, “Here’s what happens after No. 3” in the draft.
Except when it was time for the third overall pick, Blue Jackets head scout Ville Sirén announced they had selected center Pierre Luc-Dubois of the Quebec Major Junior league.
Surprise swept through the arena in Buffalo, from fans to the live broadcasts. But the Jackets had indicated they might draft for positional need, and Dubois was the next best center on the board.
The Oilers had been projected by some to select Tkachuk at No. 4 after the Jackets took Puljujarvi. Except now Puljujarvi was still on the board, and Edmonton snagged him with that pick.
Puljujarvi was a major disappointment in Edmonton, playing six seasons before he was traded to Carolina. Tkachuk has 461 more points in his NHL career than Puljujarvi.
How close did Tkachuk come to becoming an Oiler? Four years ago, he told TSN Radio that they appeared ready to draft him before Dubois went to Columbus.
“During the draft, on the draft floor, it was kind of a weird moment where some people at the Edmonton table — you could ask them, they would probably deny it — but they’re kind of staring me down and kind of giving me some smiles. The only people that saw it were me and my mom. So we’re like, ‘All right, we’re going to Edmonton,'” he said. “Then Pierre-Luc Dubois went third overall, and the phone started to ring like crazy at the Edmonton table. They threw the jersey under the table and it looked like they stripped off a name and gave it to Puljujarvi with the next pick.”
Tkachuk was drafted sixth overall by the Flames. The rest is (alternate) history.
TKACHUK SAID HE HAD “kind of like a Christmas Eve feeling” before the Stanley Cup Final, giddy with anticipation for trying to win the Cup after the Panthers lost in the championship round last season to the Vegas Golden Knights.
When asked about the Oilers, there was no trash talk, no bulletin board material.
“They’re a great team. Finally got to watch some of their games against Dallas, since we were playing every other night. It was good to watch their games,” he said. “They played really well and ultimately deserved to win the West. It should make for a great final.”
After Florida went up 2-0 in the series with its Game 2 victory, Tkachuk was asked if the Oilers were rattled.
Again, he deferred.
“No, I don’t think so. It’s just sometimes the way it goes,” he said, before leaving the media scrum.
1:19
Why Sergei Bobrovsky is enjoying the ‘fun challenge’ of facing Oilers
Sergei Bobrovsky joins Scott Van Pelt following the Panthers’ 4-1 win over the Oilers in Game 2.
The story of Matthew Tkachuk vs. the Edmonton Oilers is also a story of a young, brash superstar at the apex of his brashness who says he’s a much different player today. Tkachuk speaks with pride about what he perceives to be the Panthers’ maturity as a team and his own discipline on the ice, in contrast with how he’d played in the Battle of Alberta, for example.
“I’d say that used to be a part of my game. Now it’s pretty nonexistent,” he said. “I’ve kind of learned what works, and what works is playing as hard as I can for 30 to 45 seconds — well, sometimes I take the long shift, so 30 seconds to a minute. There’s no need to waste your time doing extra stuff.”
Panthers coach Paul Maurice has cited the 26-year-old Tkachuk’s maturity throughout the season, starting with how he approached this campaign after Florida’s stunning run to the Stanley Cup Final last season.
Maurice said Tkachuk was part of the leadership group that got the Panthers locked in to their defensive game this season, which was a byproduct of missing Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour at the start of 2023-24 after surgeries. He said Tkachuk’s attitude from the start of training camp help set the efficient, business-like tone of Florida’s approach.
“Last year, I think we were just kind of riding the wave,” Tkachuk said before the conference finals. “Going into this, we know what it’s going to take to ultimately come out on top.”
Tkachuk is tied with Aleksander Barkov with 19 points to lead all Panthers scorers. He hasn’t had the soaring moments as regularly as he did last playoff run.
But Maurice is confident that Tkachuk is still capable of them.
“His game is better. He’s more disciplined. He’s matured with this group over two years. I think he’s … primed,” the coach said. “I would never bet against him coming up with some heroics, but it’s certainly not the only thing we have to expect now when we come to the rink from him.”
If Tkachuk is going to have a signature moment in this run for the Panthers, having it happen in Edmonton seems appropriate, given their history.
It’s possible Tkachuk could skate the Cup for the first time in his career right over the Oilers’ logo at center ice — the ultimate last laugh for the player who was Public Enemy No. 1 in Edmonton.
-
Chris Low, ESPN Senior Writer
With schools playing as many as 16 games this season in the first year of the 12-team College Football Playoff format, we waited a little longer than usual to unveil our 2024 ESPN All-America team.
Postseason performances should matter, especially when you’re talking about up to four games.
Headlining the team is Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, who turned in All-America performances at three spots. (We limited him to one position on our list.) The receiver/cornerback was the cornerstone of a Colorado team that won nine games in 2024 after suffering through seven straight losing seasons.
Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty and Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts are the only repeat selections from last season. Ohio State and Texas each have three first-team selections to lead the way, and Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith is the only true freshman on the team.
OFFENSE
Ward made the most of his one season at Miami after transferring from Washington State. A Heisman Trophy finalist, he tied for the FBS lead by accounting for 44 touchdowns (39 passing, 4 rushing and 1 receiving) on the ACC’s No. 1 offense and threw just seven interceptions in 454 pass attempts. Ward, who started his career in the FCS ranks at Incarnate Word, had 10 games with at least 300 passing yards and set a Miami record with 4,313 passing yards.
Second team: Dillon Gabriel, Oregon
The mere fact that Jeanty made a run at Barry Sanders’ hallowed NCAA rushing record of 2,628 yards tells you everything you need to know about Jeanty’s 2024 season. He led the country with 2,601 rushing yards and scored 30 touchdowns. Jeanty was the Heisman Trophy runner-up to Hunter, and defenses aligned to stop him all season. Even so, he entered the Fiesta Bowl with 1,882 yards after contact, according to Pro Football Focus, which was more than any other FBS player had in total rushing yards.
Second team: Dylan Sampson, Tennessee
Everybody in and around Arizona State’s program already knew Skattebo was an elite running back, but he showed the rest of the country in his two postseason outings. Skattebo finished second to Jeanty with 1,711 rushing yards and had 21 touchdowns. He also caught 45 passes, and in the Big 12 championship game win over Iowa State and playoff loss to Texas, he rolled up 450 all-purpose yards and accounted for six touchdowns, one a 42-yard pass in the Sun Devils’ double-overtime loss to Texas.
Second team: Kaleb Johnson, Iowa
Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, who has been a head coach at the NFL and collegiate levels, said he has never had a receiver like Smith, with his blend of size, speed and ability to track the ball in tight coverage. A true freshman, the 6-foot-3, 225-pound Smith was uncoverable in the Buckeyes’ first two playoff games, with four touchdown catches and 290 receiving yards. He’s tied for third nationally with 14 touchdown receptions and averages 17.3 yards per catch.
Second team: Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona
Nash is the first San José State player to be named a consensus All-American. The 6-3, 195-pound redshirt senior became the fourth player in FBS history to earn the receiving triple crown in the regular season with 104 catches, 1,382 receiving yards and 16 touchdown catches. Nash had 39 catches of 15 yards or longer, according to Pro Football Focus, and 71 catches resulting in a first down, leading the nation in both categories. He also threw two touchdown passes this season.
Second team: Xavier Restrepo, Miami
Warren came to Penn State as a quarterback, and that athleticism was on full display in his sensational redshirt senior season. He caught 104 passes for 1,233 yards and 13 combined touchdowns (8receiving, 4 rushing and 1 passing). The 6-6, 261-pound Warren became the first tight end in Big Ten history to catch 100 passes in a season and won the John Mackey Award as the top tight end in college football.
Second team: Harold Fannin Jr., Bowling Green
Despite a left ankle injury that sidelined him for the SEC championship game, Banks was the centerpiece of a Texas offensive line that paved the way for one of the most balanced offenses in the country. The Longhorns were one of six FBS teams to average more than 275 passing yards and 160 rushing yards per game. The 6-4, 320-pound junior won the Lombardi Award this season as the nation’s best collegiate lineman and has been a starter at left tackle since his true freshman season.
Second team: Wyatt Milum, West Virginia
Jackson’s versatility has been a huge part of Ohio State’s run to the national championship game. He returned for his senior season after earning All-Big Ten honors at left guard each of the previous two seasons. He continued his stellar play at guard through the first half of this season but moved to left tackle after Josh Simmons suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Second team: Willie Lampkin, North Carolina
Florida’s offensive line improved steadily in the latter part of the 2024 season, when the Gators won their last four games, and Slaughter’s play was a big reason. A redshirt junior who has announced he will return for the 2025 season, Slaughter allowed just one sack and one quarterback hit in 728 snaps in 2024, according to Pro Football Focus.
Second team: Cooper Mays, Tennessee
Booker was a powerful blocker in the run game during all three of his seasons at Alabama and was a two-year starter at left guard. He also started one game this season at left tackle. Booker recorded a team-high 87 knockdown blocks and didn’t allow a sack in 715 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. He declared for the NFL draft following the Crimson Tide’s bowl game.
Second team: Bill Katsigiannis, Army
From the time he stepped foot on campus, Campbell was a fixture on LSU’s offensive line at left tackle, and this season, he played every offensive snap (866) in 11 of LSU’s 12 games. Campbell shared the Jacobs Trophy as the SEC’s top blocker with Texas’ Kelvin Banks Jr. Campbell is headed to the NFL after three seasons in Baton Rouge and is rated as the No. 2 tackle in the draft by ESPN’s Mel Kiper.
Second team: Josh Conerly Jr., Oregon
It might be a while before college football sees another iron man like Hunter, who played a staggering 1,440 snaps this season. In addition to playing more than 650 snaps on both offense and defense, he even played some on special teams — talk about an all-purpose player! Hunter tied for fourth nationally with 96 catches and ranked second with 15 touchdown receptions in winning the Biletnikoff Award as the country’s top receiver and led Colorado on defense with four interceptions and 11 pass breakups.
Second team: Desmond Reid, Pittsburgh
DEFENSE
Carter played through a painful shoulder injury in Penn State’s playoff semifinal loss to Notre Dame and still managed a sack. He led all FBS players with 23.5 tackles for loss, including 12 sacks. The 6-3, 252-pound junior moved from linebacker to edge rusher this season and established himself as one of the most dynamic defenders in the country. He had four games with multiple sacks and is projected to be one of the top defenders taken in the 2025 NFL draft.
Second team: Kyle Kennard, South Carolina
The defensive front was Michigan’s strength, and it was dominant in the upset win over Ohio State in the regular-season finale. Graham was the rock of that unit and a disrupter in the interior against both the run and pass. He had 7.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and 26 pressures and is headed to the NFL, where he’s projected by ESPN’s Mel Kiper to be the top defensive tackle taken in the 2025 draft.
Second team: Rylie Mills, Notre Dame
After transferring from Texas A&M, Nolen had his best season at Ole Miss. He’s big (6-3, 305 pounds) and has great burst. Nolen led all SEC defenders with 12 tackles for loss in league games and is the kind of interior pass rusher all defenses covet. And as a run stopper, he was ranked second among all interior defensive linemen, according to Pro Football Focus.
Second team: Derrick Harmon, Oregon
Ezeiruaku blossomed as a senior and leaves BC as one of the top defensive players in school history. At 6-2 and 247 pounds, Ezeiruaka was a pass-rushing dynamo with 16.5 sacks to rank second among FBS players. He was third nationally with 20.5 tackles for loss en route to winning ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors and the Ted Hendricks Award as college football’s top defensive end.
Second team: Jack Sawyer, Ohio State
The Butkus Award winner as the nation’s top linebacker, Walker is the third Georgia player to win the award since 2017. He’s a fierce tackler wherever he lines up and led the Bulldogs with 10.5 tackles for loss. Walker played more snaps at inside linebacker than he did rushing the passer, but he still finished with 34 quarterback pressures, according to Pro Football Focus.
Second team: Jihaad Campbell, Alabama
One of the best stories in college football, Dolac started his career at Buffalo as a walk-on, then missed most of last season because of a shoulder injury before transferring to Utah State for a semester and going through spring practice. But he knew he belonged closer to home and returned to Buffalo to have a huge senior season. He led the nation with 168 total tackles and led all linebackers with 18.5 tackles for loss to go along with five interceptions.
Second team: Jay Higgins, Iowa
The epitome of a do-it-all linebacker, Hill went from being one of the best true freshmen in 2023 to one of the best defenders in the country this season. And, yes, he has another season remaining at Texas. The 6-3, 235-pound sophomore led the Longhorns with 113 total tackles and tied for fourth among FBS linebackers with 16.5 tackles for loss. He also had four forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and an interception.
Second team: Danny Stutsman, Oklahoma
Barron was already widely viewed as one of the top cornerbacks in college football but only raised his stock in helping limit Ohio State star receiver Jeremiah Smith to one catch for 3 yards in the Longhorns’ playoff semifinal loss at the Cotton Bowl. Barron, a 5-11, 200-pound redshirt senior, was the Thorpe Award winner as the best defensive back in college football and tied for the team lead in a talented secondary with five interceptions.
Second team: Jermod McCoy, Tennessee
In his second season at Cal after transferring from UNLV, Williams led all FBS players with seven interceptions and tied for third with 16 passes defended. He finished his college career with 14 interceptions and scored touchdowns this season on an 80-yard kickoff return in the opener against UC Davis and a 40-yard interception return against Cam Ward and Miami in a 39-38 loss to the Hurricanes.
Second team: D’Angelo Ponds, Indiana
Watts has been everything you could ask for in the back end of the Notre Dame defense. He erases mistakes, makes big plays in big moments and raises the game of everybody around him. The 6-foot, 203-pound redshirt senior leads all FBS safeties with six interceptions and is second on his team with 74 total tackles. He has 13 interceptions over his past two seasons and will go down as one of the best safeties in Notre Dame history.
Second team: Malaki Starks, Georgia
There’s no shortage of talent on the Ohio State defense, and adding Downs in the transfer portal helped spur the Buckeyes to the national championship game. He has uncanny instincts and is a force against both the run and pass. The 6-foot, 205-pound sophomore was a Thorpe Award finalist after earning Shaun Alexander Award honors as the national freshman of the year in his first season at Alabama. Downs ranks third on his team with 76 total tackles, including 7.5 for loss, and has two interceptions.
Second team: Michael Taaffe, Texas
SPECIAL TEAMS
Zvada came to Ann Arbor by way of Arkansas State and kicked his way into Michigan history in just one season. His winning 21-yard field goal in the final minute gave the Wolverines their fourth straight victory over rival Ohio State, and he was money all season for the Maize and Blue. Zvada was 21-of-22 on field goal attempts and made all seven of his tries from 50 yards or longer.
Second team: Kenneth Almendares, Louisiana
The Trojans led the country in net punting, and Czaplicki’s ability to keep opposing offenses backed up against their own goal line was a big part of USC’s improvement on defense. Czaplicki, the Ray Guy award winner as the nation’s best punter, averaged 47.8 yards per punt, and opponents returned only 13 of his kicks. He had just one touchback all season, and 25 of his 43 punts were downed inside the 20-yard line.
Second team: Alex Mastromanno, Florida State
Shanks did a little bit of everything for UAB. The redshirt freshman led the nation in punt return yards (329) and punt return average (20.6), and he returned two punts for touchdowns, including a 58-yarder against Tulsa; he accounted for 311 all-purpose yards and four TDs in the game. Shanks also tied for the team lead with 62 catches and racked up 656 receiving yards to go with six touchdown receptions.
Second team: Rayshawn Pleasant, Tulane
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports9 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway