FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Brady Tkachuk was in the stands with his family when the Florida Panthers won Stanley Cup championships in 2024 and 2025, and he couldn't help but wonder what the moment felt like down on the ice.
If the Panthers win another Cup anytime soon, he'll find out.
Matthew Tkachuk's brother got his formal introductory news conference from the Panthers on Tuesday, two days after Florida landed him in a trade with the Ottawa Senators,
and it was clear that sharing a locker room with his older sibling — who is about to enter his fifth year with the club — is part of the excitement surrounding this move.
But it's not just the family ties that attracted Brady Tkachuk to Florida. He simply thinks this is the best place for him now.
“To be a part of a Stanley Cup-winning team is something that has always been my motivation and they have the pedigree," Brady Tkachuk said. “Every time playing them, and after the game, it’s all about winning. There’s nothing about individuals or individual success. The sole focus in here is about excellence. And they’ve shown the last bunch of years of how excellent of a team they are and their sole focus is a Stanley Cup.”
Brady Tkachuk — who was Ottawa's captain and expressed plenty of appreciation toward the Senators for what he learned in his eight years with that franchise — could join one of the deepest groups of forwards in the NHL.
The presumed other eight top forwards on Florida's depth chart going into next season — Matthew Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov, Brad Marchand, Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart, Eetu Luostarinen, Anton Lundell and Carter Verhaeghe — have combined for more than 1,800 goals and nearly 2,500 assists in their careers.
“I know how I felt being on the other end of it, going against the depth that they have,” Brady Tkachuk said. "And every line, it's a worry out there that they can take over a game on any given night. It’s not just the forwards. It's the whole entire team. They're such difference-makers ... just an unbelievable team and I’m excited to just get to know the guys and be part of this group."
Panthers hockey operations president and general manager Bill Zito, upon hearing that answer, even pointed out that in certain scenarios Brady Tkachuk could find himself on a third line in Florida. His newest acquisition nodded in approval — knowing he's going to be surrounded by tons of talent.
“That fan part of me, I'm so excited just to watch the hockey,” Zito said. “It's going to be a lot of fun.”
The trade went down on Sunday, a day when the family was gathered for the baptism of Matthew Tkachuk's daughter and with their father, Keith Tkachuk, about to reveal another surprise — that he had finally been selected for induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
A big day for the family, a big day for the team.
“When a player of Brady’s stature, ability, and most importantly, character becomes available, you do what you can to try to acquire players like that and fit them into the group,” Zito said. “When we had talked on the phone, I said, ‘It’s like a jigsaw puzzle and you’re the piece that fits into the puzzle.’ And at the same time, it’s the perfect puzzle to fit around that piece. I believe that.”
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