Connect with us

Published

on

What is the most “Tkachuk” thing about Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk?

“You mean what’s the rattiest thing about him?” asked his teammate Shane Pinto.

Is that an official synonym for Brady’s surname in hockey circles?

“I guess so,” Pinto said with a laugh. “He’s just always stirring the pot on the ice against the other team. But off the ice, he’s a nice kid. I mean, it’s completely different. He’s chill.”

Being a Tkachuk means having a moniker that has defined a certain kind of NHL player: highly skilled with blunt physicality and a win-at-all-costs attitude. Father Keith Tkachuk personified it for 18 seasons, scoring 538 goals and totaling more than 1,000 penalty minutes. Older brother Matthew, 27, swaggered his way to postseason heroism, leading the Florida Panthers to the Stanley Cup last season.

Is it finally time for Brady Tkachuk, 25, to have his definitive moment?

He captains the Senators, one of the NHL’s hottest teams recently and a franchise desperately seeking its first playoff berth since 2017.

“He’s everything you’d want in a hockey player,” said Travis Green, in his first season as Senators head coach. “He’s a bit of a throwback where he can make plays, he can score, he can set up plays, he’s tough, he fights. He’s ultracompetitive. Hard to play against and loves to win.”

Tkachuk will bring those attributes to Team USA in the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off, as part of a generation of American players getting their first chance to represent their nation in a best-on-best tournament.

“There’s just so much room and opportunity for us to grow in here before then, so I’m still focused on that,” Tkachuk told ESPN recently, standing in the Ottawa dressing room. “But it’s hard not to think about the fact that I’ll be playing for Team USA and playing with my brother. It’s hard not to get excited for it.”

About a month before the tournament, Tkachuk said there hasn’t been a ton of discussion among his national teammates — no Team USA group chat yet. “Everyone’s focused on their own teams right now,” he said.

That’s one of the unique things about the 4 Nations Face-Off, a round-robin tournament in which the U.S. battles NHL stars from Canada, Sweden and Finland. It’s a midseason tournament, with players taking a break from intense playoff races to battle for international bragging rights. Tkachuk believes that the 4 Nations players will be able to focus on the task at hand before getting back to the NHL grind.

He also believes that unlike the 2016 World Cup of Hockey — played before the 2016-17 season, when players were in preseason condition and games at times reflected that — the level of competition will be high for 4 Nations.

“It’s honestly perfect because you’re already in the groove of the season,” he said. “You’re already in the groove of your individual season, and you’re not shaking out any rust at the start of the year. You’re in your tip-top shape. That’s going to be the best quality hockey that you can have in the middle of the season.”

The Senators will have 26 games left when the season resumes on Feb. 22. As of Tuesday, Ottawa had a 90% chance of making the playoffs.

“Right now we’re in a position that I’ve never really been in before,” Tkachuk said. “It’s just so much fun to come to the rink every day. Every game is at the utmost importance.”

Pinto credited Tkachuk, who has been captain since the 2021-22 season, with powering Ottawa into the playoff race. Through 56 games, he led the team with 21 goals and was third (behind Tim Stutzle and Drake Batherson) in points. Three of those goals were overtime winners.

“I think every night he drags himself into the battle,” Pinto said. “He gets the boys going. We’re lucky to have him.”

Other teams would be lucky to have him, too. Such as the New York Rangers, for example.


BACK IN DECEMBER, Larry Brooks of the New York Post reported that the Rangers had made Tkachuk their “primary target” in trade discussions, seeking to import the 25-year-old star to change their culture like brother Matthew did with the Panthers. Brooks claimed to have three sources all saying the Rangers were after the Ottawa captain.

Pinto said that Senators players were aware of the report. “With social media now, it’s hard to kind of stay away from all that,” he said.

Tkachuk was obviously aware of it, too.

“It’s just nothing I can control, right? There’s always going to be rumors, there’s always going to be rumblings,” he said. “I think it would be on me if I let that stuff control my emotions and affect me in what I’m trying to do here.”

But Senators owner Michael Andlauer couldn’t ignore the rumors. In fact, he was absolutely fuming about what Brooks had written.

In an interview with The Athletic, the Ottawa owner said “100 percent there’s never actually been an ounce of discussion” about trading Tkachuk, who is signed through 2027-28 ($8,205,714 average annual value).

Andlauer accused Brooks of being a vessel for “soft tampering,” which immediately entered the NHL lexicon.

“If indeed he’s being fed false information, or people are giving this information from another NHL organization, I don’t know — we just had a big memo about tampering from the NHL. I might consider that soft tampering,” Andlauer said.

The Rangers responded in a statement at the time: “This is an irresponsible accusation and we defer to the Commissioner’s office.”

What was it like for Tkachuk to have his owner step up and basically tell the Rangers, “Stay away from him, he’s ours”?

“I was really appreciative for that,” Tkachuk said. “Not many people do that. I think it just speaks to the character that we have in this organization and the leadership we have in Mr. Andlauer. It felt really good to have that kind of support.”

Tkachuk signed a seven-year contract in October 2021 after a difficult negotiation, not unlike the ones his father and brother had fought through in their careers.

“He’s starting to become more of a Tkachuk the later this goes,” Matthew Tkachuk joked at the time.

play

1:35

Igor Shesterkin charges at Brady Tkachuk during scrum

Igor Shesterkin is shaken up after Brady Tkachuk collides with him in the crease, then the Rangers goalie goes after Tkachuk while the two teams scrap.

That contract was seen by many as an endorsement of Ottawa management’s vision for the future. The following three seasons were good for Brady Tkachuk, who scored more than 30 goals in each of them, but the mediocrity continued for the Senators, who missed the postseason cut and finished no better than sixth in the Atlantic Division.

Over that span, owner Eugene Melnyk passed away, with Andlauer buying the team from the Melnyk family in September 2023. GM Pierre Dorion, who drafted Tkachuk fourth in 2018 and signed him to that extension, was fired in November 2023. Green is the fifth coach Tkachuk has had in seven seasons with Ottawa.

This season, Tkachuk has experienced another change, and it’s a positive one: He’s captaining a team that’s in playoff contention deep into the season.

“I think the key is not looking too far ahead, just focusing on the here and now. As time has gone on this year, I think I’ve gotten better at that, but still need to improve a little bit more,” he said. “Not get too high, not get too low, just focus on what I can do and what I control.”


A LOT OF PLAYERS claim to stay in the “here and now” by not focusing on the daily NHL standings. Tkachuk admits that with the Eastern Conference playoff race basically changing by the hour, that’s an impossibility. He wants to know where the Senators are around the bubble. He just can’t have it weigh on him or his team too much.

“I never want to get consumed in it, where that’s all I care about. That’s going to be detrimental versus being a positive thing,” he said.

That includes imagining potential playoff matchups. There’s one of particular interest to Senators fans: the possibility of facing their archrival Toronto Maple Leafs in the Eastern Conference postseason. Ottawa has lost all four “Battle of Ontario” playoff series against the Leafs, the last one occurring in 2004.

“I did see that. I think it’d be fun and awesome. But for us, we can’t really look too far ahead yet. That’d be exciting. But I think we got to just put our full sole focus and effort into today,” Tkachuk said. “It doesn’t really matter who you play; it’s just about getting there and it’s about the process of getting there.”

Tkachuk’s profile will get a further boost courtesy of Amazon Prime’s “Faceoff: Inside the NHL,” which has been renewed for a second season. Tkachuk was featured in the premiere season of the show during some segments featuring Matthew and Keith.

Brady Tkachuk was the only player named as part of the cast when the show’s renewal was announced in December.

“It’s probably going to be a little weird to start, just with cameras kind of around. When there’s a camera or a mic around, sometimes you can just go into a shell. It’s important to not really change who I am,” he said. “I’m actually really excited to showcase the city of Ottawa and the amazing people that are in that city.”

The Amazon show will chronicle the first time Tkachuk will captain the Senators through a playoff race. It’s also the first time his own teammates are seeing him in that mode, too.

“Brady’s Brady. He’s going to wear his heart on his sleeve every day and he has done a great job so far,” forward Josh Norris said. “I think sometimes he just gets some momentum during the game where you can tell that he’s pissed off or he knows that we need to play better.”

Green was impressed with Tkachuk’s leadership from the moment the coach arrived in Ottawa.

“He’s a great captain now, but he’s still a young captain in the league. He’s learning as he goes,” Green said. “He’s going to be even a better captain the longer he plays in the league.”

Pinto said being this confident as a young captain is one of the most impressive things about Tkachuk.

“As a young guy, it’s never easy to be a leader,” he said. “I think he’s still a year older than me and he’s a captain of a team, so I can’t imagine the pressure he gets put on every night. But I thought he’s done a great job.”

Pinto arrived in the 2020-21 season. He watched as players like Tkachuk and defenseman Thomas Chabot, who started playing for Ottawa in 2016-17, committed to the team contractually and gave it their all through some lean times.

As the Senators push for the playoffs, Pinto said seeing those players get their due is part of the thrill.

“They’ve been through a lot of tough times. It’s made them stronger as people and as players. Obviously there comes a time where you want to start winning. Thankfully, we started to do that, and those guys are probably the happiest out of everyone,” he said. “When the team’s winning, people will start to realize how good they are. I’m just happy for them.”

Continue Reading

Sports

Scheifele plays, scores hours after losing father

Published

on

By

Scheifele plays, scores hours after losing father

DALLAS — Winnipeg Jets center Mark Scheifele scored a goal in his club’s must-win Game 6 of the second-round playoff series at Dallas on Saturday night, hours after the unexpected death of his father.

But he also had the penalty that set up the Stars’ power-play goal in overtime for a 2-1 win that knocked the top-ranked Jets out of the playoffs.

Jets captain Adam Lowry went and got Scheifele out of the box when the game ended.

“We’re a family. Just to let him know that we’re there for him. It’s just an awful day for him,” Lowry said. “You want to give him the strength, you want to get that kill so bad. We just couldn’t do it.”

During the handshake line afterward, Scheifele hugged and talked to just about everyone, with Stars players clearly offering their support to him in a heartwarming moment.

Scheifele scored his fifth goal of the playoffs 5½ minutes into the second period to give the Jets a 1-0 lead. He scored on a short snap shot from just outside the crease after gathering the rebound of a shot by Kyle Connor.

“I just I know we have a great group here. I knew, going in, once we found out the news that he’s going to have a great support group and we’re going to be there for him through the highs and the lows and obviously today was a real low,” defenseman Neal Pionk said of Scheifele. “[We] did everything we could to give him some words of encouragement, [and] for him to play tonight, and play the way he did, is flat out one of the most courageous things we’ve ever seen.”

The game was tied at 1 when Sam Steel, who had already scored for Dallas, was on a break. Scheifele lunged forward desperately trying to make a play when he tripped up the forward at the blue line with 14.8 seconds in regulation. Scheifele and the Jets avoided a penalty shot on the play, but ended up losing on the power play when Thomas Harley scored 1:33 into overtime.

Jets coach Scott Arniel said the news of Brad Scheifele’s passing overnight was difficult for the entire team. The team was told before the optional morning skate.

“On behalf of the Winnipeg Jets family, our condolences to Mark and his family. It rocked us all this morning when we found out,” Arniel said before the game. “Mark will be playing tonight. As he said, that’d be the wishes of his dad. He would have wanted him to play.”

Scheifele was the last Jets player to leave the ice following pregame warmups, and during at least part of the singing of “O Canada,” he had his head bowed and his eyes closed. He took the opening faceoff against Roope Hintz.

“The thing about Mr. Scheifele is he’s part of our family. He’s part of the Jets family. He goes back to 2011 when Mark was first drafted here,” Arniel said. “We have a lot of players that came in around the time that are still here that he’s been a big part of their life, along with their family. So it’s certainly, obviously devastating for Mark, but also for a lot of guys on this team.”

Winnipeg general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said the organization was doing everything it can to support Scheifele. There was no immediate word on the cause of Brad Scheifele’s death.

The 32-year-old Mark Scheifele finished with 11 points (five goals, six assists) while playing in 11 of the Jets’ 13 games this postseason. He missed Games 6 and 7 of the first-round series against St. Louis with an undisclosed injury after taking a pair of big hits early in Game 5 of that series.

In Game 5 against the Stars on Thursday night, a 4-0 win by Winnipeg that extended the series, Scheifele was sucker-punched by Stars captain Jamie Benn during a late scrum. Benn got a game misconduct penalty and was fined by the NHL the maximum-allowed $5,000 but avoided a suspension.

Scheifele had 87 points (39 goals and 48 assists) in the 82 regular-season games.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Continue Reading

Sports

Stars win, oust Presidents’ Trophy-winning Jets

Published

on

By

Stars win, oust Presidents' Trophy-winning Jets

DALLAS — Thomas Harley scored on a power play 1:33 into overtime and the Dallas Stars advanced to the Western Conference final for the third season in a row, beating the top-seeded Winnipeg Jets 2-1 in Game 6 on Saturday night.

Mark Scheifele scored for the Jets hours after the unexpected death of his father, but also had a tripping penalty with 14.8 seconds left in regulation that set up Dallas to start overtime with a man advantage.

Sam Steel, who had scored earlier for Dallas, was on a break when Scheifele lunged forward desperately trying to make a play when he tripped up the forward at the blue line. The Stars called a timeout, but missed a shot and had another one blocked before the end of regulation.

The Stars move on to face the Edmonton Oilers in the West final for the second year in a row and will host Game 1. Connor McDavid and his club, which won in six games last year, wrapped up their second-round series with a 1-0 overtime win over Vegas on Wednesday night in Game 5.

Dallas goaltender Jake Oettinger made 22 saves to wrap up his sixth playoff series win over the past three seasons. He made an incredible diving save with 8½ minutes left in regulation, leaning to the right before having to lunge back across his body toward the left post to knock down a shot by Mason Appleton.

Winnipeg goaltender Connor Hellebuyck stopped 19 shots but couldn’t prevent a loss that assured a winless record for his club on the road this postseason. Meanwhile, his final goal allowed continued a magical season for Harley, Dallas’ breakout blueliner who also played for Team Canada this season in the 4 Nations Face-Off.

“Not surprising to the guys in here,” Oettinger said of Harley’s rise to prominence. “We’re very lucky.”

Steel notched his first goal of the playoffs midway through the second period. He shot a long rebound from the top of the right circle, sending the puck into the upper right corner of the net just above Hellebuyck’s glove.

“I’m just disappointed,” Winnipeg captain Adam Lowry said. “We couldn’t get that [penalty] kill for [the fans], and get it back to win in Winnipeg for Game 7. But you know, [I’m] really proud of this group, and the way they handled everything, and the way we fought back. … It just came up short.”

The Jets become the next in a long line of Presidents’ Trophy winners to bow out early. The award, which goes to the NHL’s top regular-season team, was won by the New York Rangers last season before they lost in the Eastern Conference final. Two years ago, the No. 1 seed Boston Bruins lost in the first round to the Florida Panthers.

“We lost to a great team,” Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. “We lost to a team that was in our rearview mirror all year long.”

Scheifele’s effort was a focus for Dallas coach Pete DeBoer, who began his postgame media availability by saying what the Jets star forward did in playing Saturday was “courageous,” adding “I’m sure his dad would’ve been really proud of him and what he did.”

For the Stars, it’s off to the NHL’s final four, as the franchise continues to seek its second Stanley Cup title.

“I think we’ve got something special going on. We’re going to have to prove it again,” DeBoer said. “You know, we’ve been to this spot the last two years and haven’t taken the next step, so that’s the challenge.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Continue Reading

Sports

Eichel, Knights seek ‘common ground’ on new deal

Published

on

By

Eichel, Knights seek 'common ground' on new deal

As the Vegas Golden Knights absorb being knocked out in the second round of the NHL playoffs by the Edmonton Oilers, they don’t have to wait long before planning for their future. Jack Eichel, who has one season left on his eight-year, $80 million contract, is eligible for an extension beginning July 1.

“He’s one of the top guys in the NHL,” general manager Kelly McCrimmon said. “He’s got great character, great leadership. You see night in, night out what he does for our team, so that will be a really important piece of business for us. We certainly hope to keep Jack in our organization. Jack loves it here, so I would hope we could find common ground.”

Eichel, 28, comes off the best season of his 10-year career, the past four with the Golden Knights. He set career highs with 66 assists and 94 points to go with 28 goals as the center on the team’s top line. He also skated for Team USA in the 4 Nations Face-Off, where his club finished second to Canada.

“Can’t say enough about my teammates and the people in this building and the people that make this organization what it is,” Eichel said. “I’m super proud to be part of this organization and the city and represent the Vegas Golden Knights. Contractually, I think things kind of take care of itself. I’ll just worry about trying to prepare for next season this offseason and go from there.”

Management, which is not known for sitting on its hands, will have other significant decisions to make as well on the team’s direction after the Golden Knights were eliminated in the second round for the second year in a row.

“I like our team,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “I don’t have a problem with any player in that room. I think every one of them is a great teammate. They care about one another. Are there areas of our game we could complement better? Probably. We’ll evaluate that.

“All the guys that were up, their contracts, they were all good players for us. All good players. No disappointments at all. We’ll probably have to look at areas because we’re not the last team standing. Usually, you think, ‘Where can we upgrade? Where can I upgrade what I do?'”

McCrimmon offered a similar assessment.

“I feel our team was good enough to win,” McCrimmon said.

The Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup two years ago and thought they had another contender this season after capturing the Pacific Division and securing the Western Conference’s second-best record. But Vegas had to rally from a 2-1 series deficit to beat Minnesota in the opening round, winning twice in overtime. Then the Golden Knights lost two overtime games in the 4-1 series loss to the Edmonton Oilers.

“I didn’t walk away from Edmonton saying, ‘We had no chance. They’re just better,'” Cassidy said. “I didn’t feel that way. I felt we needed to execute better in a few of the games and we could be the team moving on.”

Forward William Karlsson said losing to the Oilers made it “a wasted season.” McCrimmon wasn’t as blunt, instead labeling the loss as “a missed opportunity.”

Change will come, but at least given the tenor of the comments by Cassidy and McCrimmon, the Golden Knights will largely return their roster intact next season.

“I think we have a great organization,” goaltender Adin Hill said. “Best management I’ve been under. I think they’re going to do the things that they see fit for [the] roster, whether it’s keeping it the same or whether it’s changing up a few things. I don’t know. That’s their decision, above my paygrade, but it will be exciting to see. We know that we’re going to be contenders every year.”

Forward Reilly Smith made it clear he wants to return. An original Golden Knight, Smith was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins after winning the Stanley Cup and then sent to the New York Rangers a year later. The Golden Knights reacquired the 34-year-old on March 6.

Smith made a smooth transition back into the lineup with three goals and eight assists in 21 games. Then he delivered the play of the postseason for the Golden Knights, scoring with 0.4 seconds left to beat the Oilers in Game 3, and finished with three goals and an assist in 11 playoff games.

“Probably the best hockey I’ve played in my career has been wearing this jersey,” Smith said. “It’s a fun group to be a part of and a fun place to call home. My family loves it here, so if there’s a way to make it work, it’d be great. At the end of the day, it’s a business. My contract negotiations, I probably know as little as [the media does] right now.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Continue Reading

Trending