- Brady Tkachuk says leaving Ottawa wasn’t easy but he was ready for the next chapter
- Florida sent two 2026 first-rounders, a conditional 2029 first and a 2027 second to Ottawa
- Read below for Tkachuk’s intro presser and how he found out about the trade
Brady Tkachuk is a Florida Panther, and he’s at peace with how he got here.
The 26-year-old met the South Florida media Tuesday for his introductory press conference, three days after the Panthers acquired him from Ottawa. He kept coming back to one phrase. He was ready for the next chapter.
Tkachuk talked about the decision to leave the only franchise he had ever known on The Pat McAfee Show.
“It was an amazing eight years. It made me who I am,” Tkachuk said. “It wasn’t an easy decision, but I felt like I was ready for the next chapter.”
Watch Tkachuk’s full introductory presser with the Panthers:
The news didn’t sink in right away. Tkachuk said he found out he’d been traded in the middle of a family photo shoot.
“I was off my phone for five minutes,” he said. “I saw I had 10 missed calls and I realized it happened.”
It hit him again Monday, flying to Fort Lauderdale with both families for the presser.
“That was where it’s like, ‘Holy cow, this is real,'” Tkachuk said. “This is what’s going to be everyday life.”
He’s now teammates with brother Matthew for the first time in the NHL. The two broke down the move on their own show.
Here’s Brady and Matthew on the trade and saying goodbye to Ottawa:
The price was steep. Florida sent Ottawa the No. 9 and No. 25 picks in this week’s draft, a conditional first-round pick in 2029 and a second-rounder in 2027. The Panthers had grabbed that No. 25 selection earlier Sunday in a separate deal with Seattle for Mackie Samoskevich.
Tkachuk arrives with real production. He put up 463 points in 572 regular-season games over eight years in Ottawa, where he wore the captain’s C for the last five. He is signed long-term at an $8.2 million cap hit.
The captain had asked the Senators for the trade, a request GM Steve Staios confirmed before the deal came together.
Now he joins a team that won back-to-back Cups in 2024 and 2025 before injuries wrecked this past season. The Panthers want another run, and they just handed themselves one of the league’s most physical forwards to chase it.
