Brady Tkachuk says it’s ‘time for the next chapter’ as fans sour on blockbuster trade

Brady Tkachuk thanked the city of Ottawa and the Senators after being traded to the Panthers, but not all fans are happy about it. CTV’s Austin Lee reports.

Former Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk thanked the team and the city for its years of support days after a blockbuster trade that ignited debate and anger among many fans.

Tkachuk spoke for the first time Tuesday after the Senators announced he would be joining the Florida Panthers in a major trade that would see Ottawa receive a slate of draft picks in exchange for the 26-year-old forward.

“Ottawa truly shaped me into the person I am today,” Tkachuk said on an episode of Wingmen, released on Tuesday, the podcast he hosts with his brother Matthew Tkachuk, a winger for the Panthers.

“The city of Ottawa and the fanbase, everybody welcomed me from day one, treated me like I was from there, treated me like family and I’ll just never forget that.”

• Ottawa Senators trading Brady Tkachuk to Panthers

Brady Tkachuk said some of the most memorable moments of his life happened during his eight years with the team, including getting married, and the birth of his two children, Ryder and Lyla.

“I never imagined life to turn out the way that it did. Thank you to everybody in this city, all the fans, all my teammates, staff, everybody, coaches. Super grateful for the relationships I was able to make, just an unbelievable eight years,” he said.

He also posted to Instagram thanking the team and the city.

Tkachuk had said as recently as April that he was “fully committed” to the Ottawa Senators after rumours circulated that a trade could be in the works following the Olympic Winter Games.

On Monday, Senators general manager Steve Staios confirmed Tkachuk had requested a trade away from the team about a week after they were eliminated from the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in April.

• Brady Tkachuk requested trade from Ottawa Senators, GM says

The Florida Panthers held a press conference introducing Tkachuk on Tuesday. When asked by reporters about his change of heart to leave the Ottawa Senators, Tkachuk didn’t go into specifics but said the decision to leave wasn’t easy.

“Definitely a lot of different things have happened throughout my time there (in Ottawa), and for me I think it was just time for the next chapter. It wasn’t an easy decision, it was something that I took a little bit more time than what’s been out there to make that decision and it was a very hard decision,” he said.

“There’s a lot more things that go into it, but for me now, just very thankful for what they’ve done for me, not just as a player, but moulded me into the human that I am today and the person that I am today and that’s something that I can carry into the future.”

Tkachuk pointed to a chance to play with his brother and the Panthers’ winning record as to why he wanted to make the move to Florida.

“Just to be a part of a Stanley Cup winning team is something that has always been my motivation, to be here, (the Panthers) have the pedigree, and every time playing them and after the game, it’s all about winning… the sole focus in here is just about excellence and they’ve shown in the last bunch of years of how excellent of a team and their sole focus is a Stanley Cup,” he said.

As part of the deal with the Panthers, the Ottawa Senators picked up the ninth and 25th overall selections in this year’s NHL Draft, with a second-round pick in 2027 and another first-round pick in 2029.

On Wednesday, the Sens traded the ninth-overall pick to acquire forwards William Eklund, Kasper Halttunen, and the rights to unsigned draft pick Brandon Svoboda from the San Jose Sharks.

Trade sparks anger, gratitude

Tkachuk’s trade sparked anger and debate among some Senators fans, who say they felt betrayed by his decision to leave the city.

The captain, who was drafted by the Senators No. 4 overall in the 2018 NHL Draft, had two seasons remaining on his seven-year, $57.5 million contract.

“The fact that its two years left on his contract, to me he’s a quitter, to me he quit on this team, quit on this franchise, quit on this city, and you lose a lot of respect in that town when you do that,” said Ross Levitan, a host of the Locked on Senators podcast.

Longtime Senators fan Nick Juneau didn’t mince his words.

“I think it’s absolute crap that he requested a trade with two years left. Especially being the captain too. I think obviously, the Sens had to trade him to get something for him,” Juneau said.

“I thought it would happen next summer. I thought they would get another year out of him and then trade him… He’s the new most-hated ex-Sen. More than Alexei Yashin, or [Dany] Heatley or any of them.”

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Some expressed a more cordial tone, expressing gratitude to the former Sens captain for his eight seasons in Ottawa.

“He’s reunited with his brother there in Florida so, that is pretty cool. I wish him nothing but the best. I think he tried his best here,” said longtime Sens fan Darren Hadden.

Others say they will remember his off-ice impact in Ottawa more than his on-ice play.

“He did my mom a solid. It was her 75th birthday and he sent her a video. No charge, and I thought that was really great of him to do that,” said Kevin Deschamps.

“He was with the children all the time and he gave his time and money to CHEO and other groups.”

Tkachuk, a native of Scottsdale, Ariz., joins other American captains who have left Canadian teams to move back south in recent years.

Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes was traded to the Minnesota Wild last December.

Matthew Tkachuk chose to depart the Calgary Flames for the Florida Panthers after the 2021-22 season. Rumours have also circulated about Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck’s future on that team.

With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Austin Lee