Hungry for high-stakes hockey, powerful forward Brady Tkachuk is heading to South Florida to trade early playoff exits for the championship pedigree and veteran composure of a perennial contender.
Brady Tkachuk wants to win big hockey games.
The 26-year-old power forward has enjoyed a strong start to his NHL career, racking up 213 goals and 463 points during his eight seasons in the NHL, all with the Ottawa Senators.
But despite being more than halfway to playing in his 1,000th NHL game, Tkachuk’s experience with competing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs has been quite limited.
His only playoff action has come in each of the past two seasons, with Ottawa losing in six games to the Toronto Maple Leafs last year and then getting swept by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes a couple months ago.
But those haven’t been the only games Tkachuk has played with something significant on the line.
Between his handful of postseason outings, the 4 Nations Face-Off last February and this year’s Winter Olympics, Tkachuk received a taste of what it’s like playing the game he loves at its highest difficulty level and with stakes at their highest.
It’s that hunger for high stakes hockey that led Tkachuk to South Florida.
“It definitely started at 4 Nations, because at that time I’d never played in a playoff game, and it started in those big games that just, the best way I can describe it is I just got addicted to those feelings of getting up and that nervous excitement, that little anxiety you get going into the game of, ‘holy cow, this is a big game,’” Tkachuk explained. “And it kind of translated to that first playoff run, and then into the Olympics, where that Olympic final was the biggest game that I’ve ever played to date, and just not realizing the impact that it would have on our lives.”
Seeing what its like playing on the game’s biggest stages, with the Stanley Cup or Olympic gold on the line, is a feeling that every hockey player wants to experience as often as possible.
Some, unfortunately, never get the chance.
Before the Olympics, Tkachuk had only been able to catch a glimpse of what it would be like to have all his hopes and dreams become reality.
Now he finds himself on a team that is set up to play in those big, meaningful games each and every season, giving him the chance to see his name engraved next to his brother’s on the Stanley Cup someday.
“Those are the games you want to play in, and those are the games that you dreamed about as a kid, that's where team legacies are created in those games, and that's something that really excited me about coming to this group, and coming to this team and this organization,” said Tkachuk. “They've been there, they've seen that, they have the experience, and I think they’re the most confident group of guys in those situations. So just to be able to learn and be a part of that was something that really excited me too.”
Tkachuk has also had a front row seat to the success that his brother has enjoyed with the Panthers.
Playing that Florida team three or four times every season has helped give Tkachuk a firsthand look into exactly why they have been so good under Head Coach Paul Maurice, and why he’s found a way to get the most out of his players.
“Just talking with him, I love the non-negotiables that you agree on as a coach and as a player,” Tkachuk said of Maurice. “And that's always something that you can come back to if you're in a rut, if you're in a struggle, that you can just always go back to your non-negotiables and just focus on that, and that’s usually where you find your game again, and then take off. It's something that, with his pedigree and hearing all the things that guys love playing for him and he holds everybody accountable, but winning is this soul focus. It's exciting to have a coach like that and being able to learn a lot from him.”
Florida plays a style that Tkachuk knows he should fit in well with.
It’s a physically demanding system that has made the Panthers a team that opponents hate lining up against, one that found a decent amount of success against Tkachuk’s former squad.
Since Maurice’s arrival in 2022, Florida went 11-4 against Tkachuk’s Senators.
“I know how I felt being on the other end of it, going against the depth that they have, and it's just every line is a worry out there,” Tkachuk said. “They've showed that they can take over a game on any given night, and it's not just the forwards. Just the whole entire team are such difference makers. Just seeing the pictures of the guessed depth charts of how it looks, it’s just so exciting. Just an unbelievable team, and I'm excited to just get to know the guys and be part of this group.”
That feeling of excitement isn’t exclusive to only Tkachuk and his new teammates, or any fans who may be reading this.
Not even Panthers General Manager Bill Zito can say he’s immune to the building anticipation of what’s to come for the Cats.
“We were joking about the depth chart, and if we go to play a game and the (Anton) Lundell line goes out first against the first line, and then Matthew (Tkachuk), Benny (Sam Bennett), and Carter (Verhaeghe) go match up against the second line, you're in the third line,” Zito said with a chuckle after turning to face Tkachuk. “So if I'm sitting here, that fan part of me, I'm so excited just to watch the hockey. So it's going to be a lot of fun.”
Ditto, Billy.
Ditto.
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Photo caption: Feb 22, 2026; Milan, Italy; Brady Tkachuk and Matthew Tkachuk of the United States celebrate after winning the men's ice hockey gold medal game during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. (James Lang-Imagn Images)
