The Tkachuk family gathered to celebrate one of the biggest moments in their personal lives. And this was when an even more special moment landed in their laps.

On Sunday, June 21, Brady and Matthew Tkachuk were at a Father's Day brunch. This was when they found out that Brady had been traded from the Ottawa Senators to the Florida Panthers.

In a post by Katie Engleson on X Read, "A Father's Day the Tkachuks won't forget.The family was all together for Matthew's daughter's baptism. Later that day, they were taking family pictures when Brady got the call that he'd been traded to Florida."

The brothers went on to speak on The Pat McAfee Show and recalled how they first heard the news. Their grandfather saw a post from TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun on social media. This was before the deal had been made official, and was immediately brought up at the family brunch.

Later in the day, the family was taking photos of each other. Brady had stepped away from his phone for a very short while. When he returned to his phone, he found a bunch of missed calls.

"I couldn't believe it," Brady said.

He received the confirmation of the trade by phone. This became a significant personal moment for Tkachuk’s family. It was the day Brady learned he would play alongside his older brother in the same NHL roster.

On The Pat McAfee Show, Matthew described how he held Millie, "I was lifting her like the Stanley Cup."

Both brothers expressed their excitement over their reunion and talked about the time they played for Team USA together. 

This was during the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off, and then winning gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics; these achievements added more value to the possibility of this reunion. Their father, Keith Tkachuk, had always been a part of their career.

The same weekend, the following day, Keith Tkachuk got to know that he had been listed in the Hockey Hall of Fame's Class of 2026.

A Long-Awaited Reunion for the Brothers

The trade was first reported by Pierre LeBrun, that they sent Brady to Florida in exchange for three first-round picks and a 2027 second-round pick. He is set to join his brother, Matthew, on the Panthers. The same team that won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2024 and 2025.

As per reports by NHL.com, that initially, Brady had informed the Ottawa management that he would not sign a long-term extension before reaching unrestricted free agency in 2028. He even holds a full no-movement clause; he listed his target destinations to four teams, with Florida clearly being the first pick.

For the Panthers, Brady's arrival to the team does add value as he is one of the league's deepest forward groups. His kind of play clearly complements a roster that already has Matthew, Sasha Barkov, Sam Reinhart, and Brad Marchand.

The story of how the brothers found out during a gathering on Father's Day may be the most memorable detail of a deal in their NHL offseason.

Read more at NHL Fan Central!

Written by

Aadhya Nalla

Edited by

Kaamna Dwivedi