The Ottawa Senators captain has found another gear, playing in big games alongside his brother at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Even the most casual observer of the Four Nations Face-Off must notice how meaningful these games are to the players.
For some fans, the extra meaning may be about tariffs or retaliatory tariffs, which country needs the other more, or what this will do for trade relations.
For the players on Thursday, for both teams, it’s just about winning for your country. How refreshing is that?
Having gone more than eight years without best-on-best hockey has been difficult for hockey purists, and it positioned this first-of-its-kind tournament for ultimate success.
Indirectly, it has positioned the Ottawa Senators for a great run to the playoffs. This tournament has been exactly what Brady Tkachuk needed—a best-on-best, big-game environment where he could shine. And he even got to do it with his brother.
When play resumes on Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens at Canadian Tire Centre (and Brady clearly has a fan in Habs first rounder Juraj Slafkovsky) the Sens captain seems ready to deliver a message:
You’re either in or you’re in the way.
Brady has clearly had his fill of losing since arriving in the league in 2018. Watching his brother drink from the Holy Grail of hockey lit his pilot light. And now this tournament has taken things to a whole other level.
With respect to Alex Ovechkin, whose legacy will be that of the greatest power forward of all time, right now, today, Tkachuk is clearly the top power forward in the game. And he is a leader.
Band of Brothers
Another more subtle or indirect message is also being delivered through this tournament.
Tkachuk is in year four of a seven-year deal, and the window is open for the Senators to make a push. It would behoove them to make those years count.
The only other thing that's as obvious as Tkachuk’s obsession with winning is how much he enjoys playing with his brother, Matthew. Brady hits free agency in the summer of 2028, and his brother gets there in 2030. It’s hard not to see one of two things happening:
1. Brady extends with the Senators, Florida’s window closes, and Matthew eventually ends up in Ottawa by trade or signing.
Or
2. Florida’s window is still open, and Brady signs as a UFA with the Panthers in the summer of 2028.
One way or another, it's inevitable these two players will play together one day, and given that they're U.S. citizens, it certainly favours an American destination with no state tax or blizzards.
It's food for thought for Sens GM Steve Staios as he plans the next three years and change of this franchise.
It should also be food for thought for Senators fans who choose to boo the Star-Spangled Banner when their captain (and six other regulars in the Sens lineup) hails from the U.S.
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