For Brady Tkachuk and Drake Batherson, the Ottawa Senators’ top two goal scorers last season, their message to the Stanley Cup right now might be: Dude. We’ve gotta stop meeting like this.
In recent years, both players have been getting some quality FaceTime with Lord Stanley’s mug, just not as the Cup champions they'd like to be. Instead, they’ve had to live vicariously through friends and family as they celebrated their day with the Cup.
Take Senators winger Drake Batherson, for example. He was on hand for Brad Marchand’s Stanley Cup celebration on Wednesday, joined by NHL superstars Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon.
Drake Batherson (in ball cap) helps Brad Marchand celebrate his Cup win with the Florida Panthers (Image credit: Instagram @kaslone).They're all part of a group that trains together every summer in Halifax, a crew that's formed a tight-knit bond over the years. Batherson also attended MacKinnon’s Cup party three years ago when the Colorado Avalanche won the championship in 2022.
Meanwhile, just 12 days ago, Marchand’s Florida Panthers' teammate, Matthew Tkachuk, celebrated his second Cup win in as many summers. And naturally, his brother, Brady, was part of those festivities again. Brady even brought along the newest member of the Tkachuk family, his son Ryder, who is set to celebrate his first birthday on September 16.
Ryder Tkachuk (left) poses for photos with the Cup, along with two members of his fan club (Instagram: matthew_tkachuk).Fun fact: that’s also Brady’s birthday. The Sens captain will be 26, but there's no doubt that it's the little guy who will soak up all the love that day.
Speaking of getting older, it won't be long before the future of both Tkachuk and Batherson in Ottawa begins to loom large. Tkachuk's seven-year contract term is roaring past us with just three years left before he becomes an unrestricted free agent. Batherson's deal has just two years left.
With their first taste of the playoffs this spring, combined with all the Cup celebrations they’ve been invited to recently, they're surely even more motivated to get their day with the Cup sooner rather than later. And if the Sens can’t make meaningful progress toward serious contention in the next couple of seasons, it won’t be unreasonable at that point to wonder about their future.
But step back from that ledge. There’s still plenty of road ahead, and that’s not something anyone in Ottawa needs to stress about on a warm Friday in August.
By Steve Warne
The Hockey News-Ottawa
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