If there was any uncertainty about how Ottawa Senators fans felt about Brady Tkachuk, those concerns were answered quickly on Wednesday night.
Senators fans booed their departed former captain at every opportunity, while the forward answered with a quick goal in the first period.
When the Florida Panthers forward took the ice for the first time in warmups, the Senators crowd displayed their displeasure, showering Tkachuk and the Panthers with boos.
The displeasure continued into the game, with fans loudly jeering every time Tkachuk touched the puck in his first shift. When Senators defenceman Artem Zub upended Tkachuk early in the game, the Senators crowd loudly cheered.
The Senators played a video honouring Tkachuk and his time spent with the team during the first TV timeout. The crowd booed throughout the video, and Tkachuk took to the ice to salute the crowd - which resulted in more jeers directed his way.
Not long after that, with the Panthers on a power play following a trip by Artem Zub, Tkachuk worked his way to the front of the net, collected a pass from his brother Matthew and chipped it into the net for the game’s opening goal.
On the ensuing faceoff, Hayden Hodgson dropped the gloves for the Senators and fought the Panthers’ Bokondji Imama. Tkachuk was jawing with Senators star Tim Stutzle after the goal, but Stutzle did not reciprocate the invitation for a fight.
Tkachuk, who requested a trade out of Ottawa over the offseason and was subsequently traded to the Florida Panthers, spent eight seasons with the Senators, including five as captain. A fan favourite for much of his tenure, he helped Ottawa return to the playoffs in 2025, ending a seven-year drought.
But his relationship with some fans grew strained last season. Tkachuk and his brother Matthew faced criticism over their “Wingmen” podcast, while Brady’s decision to attend a White House celebration following the U.S. men’s Olympic gold medal also drew backlash.
Speculation about Tkachuk’s future in Ottawa intensified late last season. At the team’s season-ending press conference in April, he acknowledged the rumours had become a distraction, insisting, “I have been fully committed to this team.”
Less than two months later, Tkachuk was traded to the Panthers.
“I’ve talked about it a lot that, you know, there’s professional reasons, personal reasons why I wasn’t going to re-sign here, and a lot of those things have remained private between (Senators GM Steve Staios) and I,” Tkachuk said.
“It’s going to remain private. It just happened to work out this way.”
Senators owner Michael Andlauer previously suggested Tkachuk’s father, Keith, and brother Matthew influenced his decision to request a trade.
“Yeah, I saw the quote and he’s entitled to his opinion,” Tkachuk said. “I know for myself it was 100 per cent my decision. I can make decisions for myself and my family.”
Tkachuk scored 213 goals and registered 463 points in 572 career games with the Senators.