Brady Tkachuk 'definitely not going' to Panthers games to cheer Matthew

While South Florida will be cheering on Matthew Tkachuk and the Panthers after punching their ticket to the Stanley Cup playoffs, younger brother Brady won’t be joining in on the fun this time.

The Ottawa Senators captain, who was with his family among the fans at Scotiabank Saddledome last spring to cheer on Matthew during the Calgary Flames’ playoff run, says he won’t be attending any games in Sunrise because the situation is much different this season.

“Unfortunately, the Florida faithful will not be experiencing my presence,” he explained Wednesday in the ‘Got Yer Back – LeBrun & Rishaug’ podcast. “It’s different now – same division, it’s just a different vibe here with us. We were so close.

“Last year, we were out pretty early in February and we weren’t really expected to be there either. It’s usually my down time too, resting my body from the bumps and bruises. I might be in Florida, but I’m definitely not going to any of their games.”

The Panthers struggled at times during the season and dealt with several key injuries, but have been one of the league’s hottest teams in the final stretch, finally clinching a wild card berth on Tuesday after the Pittsburgh Penguins’ loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.

It capped off an impressive turnaround for Florida, especially after Matthew’s father Keith called out the Panthers as a ‘soft team’ on TSN Radio 1050 after a 5-2 loss to Brady’s Senators just over two weeks ago.

“It was definitely quiet for a day,” said Brady with a smile. “I just got a text last night after Chicago beat Pittsburgh and all he said was ‘You’re welcome.’

“So, no control over that game, but he’s been taking credit. He’s been saying to me, ‘if they get in, I’m Executive of the Year.’ He’s definitely taking this one and laughing about it. He’s definitely proud of Matthew and everything he’s done.”   

The Panthers went on a 6-0-1 run after that loss to Ottawa, including a 7-2 revenge win over the Senators last week that saw both teams rack up a combined 166 penalty minutes and both brothers in the midst of a few altercations.

“It’s weird - I’m learning to kind of go with it,” Brady said about teammates getting irate about his brother and venting with him about it. “It’s different now, because now we’re in the same division.

“Of course, we’ll never do anything with each other – it’s non-negotiable. We’re both leaders of our own teams too, so we have to put the ‘brothers’ aside and just focus on winning and make sure we’re at our best playing-wise and leadership-wise to let the team win.

“Some guys are like, ‘I’m gonna be honest with you….’ and then some guys are a little more quiet about it. You can say whatever you want.”

The loss to Florida officially eliminated the Senators from playoff contention and while Brady Tkachuk says it was disappointing, he’s still satisfied with the progress they made this season.

“Being in the race until three games go, I think people kind of forget what our objective and goal was,” he explained. “For myself and a lot of the guys who haven’t experienced it before…just to get the taste of meaningful games (and) what goes into playoffs, those types of games – just getting a taste of that down the stretch - it’s different this year.

“In the years before, we were out earlier. But this year, having that taste of what we want as a team, as an organization – not making it, but going to the very end – that hurts a lot more this year. For me, the experiences of the highs and lows, taking it one day at a time and learning throughout that process and that stretch of games, I know it’s going to help our team in the long run.”