Apr 20, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Ottawa Senators left wing Brady Tkachuk (7) comes off the ice after the warmups before the game against the Carolina Hurricanes in game two of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images
Apr 20, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Ottawa Senators left wing Brady Tkachuk (7) comes off the ice after the warmups before the game against the Carolina Hurricanes in game two of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images
On Sunday, June 21, Brady Tkachuk moved to the Florida Panthers in a trade deal with the Ottawa Senators, and the NHL fans called it out vehemently on social media. With that, he will join forces with his older brother Matthew Tkachuk in sunny Florida for the upcoming 2026-27 NHL season and beyond.
As part of the trade deal, the Senators received the No. 9 and 25 picks in the first round of the upcoming 2026 NHL draft from the Panthers. They also got a conditional first-round pick in the 2029 NHL draft and a second-round pick in the 2027 NHL draft from them.
The Panthers had obtained the No. 25 pick for this year’s draft from the Seattle Kraken in a separate trade deal for forward Mackie Samoskevich earlier today.
Notably, Tkachuk, 26, is currently in the last two seasons of a seven-year contract worth $57.5 million signed with the Senators in October 2021.
After being selected as the No. 4 overall pick in the 2018 NHL draft, Tkachuk played 572 games and scored 463 points (213G / 250A) for the Senators. In his eight NHL seasons with the Canada-based franchise, he captained them for the last five.
He also played a key role in helping Ottawa qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the last two seasons since his arrival in 2018. But they lost in the first round of the Eastern Conference to the Carolina Hurricanes 4-0 this season and the Toronto Maple Leafs (4-2) in 2025.
Tkachuk scored seven points (4G / 3A) in the 10 playoff games for the Senators, all of them against the Maple Leafs last year.
NHL fans react to Brady Tkachuk’s move to the Florida Panthers
Brady Tkachuk moving to the Florida Panthers in a trade deal didn’t sit well with the NHL fans, especially after captaining the Ottawa Senators in the last five seasons. The comments section of Sportsnet’s post on X was filled with comments critical of all the parties involved.
“Now that has to be one of the worst trades ever. BT isn’t even an elite player, hell, he isn’t even a real good player, and they sold the farm to get him,” said a fan, who criticized the decision of the Panthers to give away four draft picks for acquiring Tkachuk.
“What a haul for Ottawa; in my opinion, he’s overrated. Also, I don’t see Florida winning the Cup anytime soon,” remarked a fan about the Senators doing well and the Panthers not so much with the trade deal.
An NHL fan wondered whether the American’s heart was quite in place to continue playing north of the border.
“Here we go….we knew he didn’t wanna play for a Canadian team,” their comment read.
A couple of supporters of the NHL opined that Tkachuk isn’t what many think he is in terms of what he brings to the table.
“He’s not worth all that, lol,” a supporter said, simply calling out his quality as a player.
“Tkachuk won’t be missed; he did nothing special in his whole time in Ottawa. Only 10 playoff games with only 2 wins his whole time there. Would have sent him to St. Louis for a better haul of picks. Hopefully Ottawa doesn’t do that video thing when he returns for his 1st game back," one more fan wrote and downplayed his importance and didn’t seem quite pleased about what the Senators got in return for him.
Will Brady Tkachuk prove to be a smart acquisition for the Florida Panthers in the upcoming NHL season and beyond? Tell us your thoughts in the comments.
Written by
Arjun Sharma
Edited by
Ankita Yadav