- A Hall of Fame call, a Blues promotion and his two sons becoming teammates all landed in one offseason
- Tkachuk spent Monday scouting the World Junior Summer Showcase in Windsor
- Read below for what he said about the induction, the new job and the Tkachuk brothers
Keith Tkachuk has had the kind of offseason that would justify taking the rest of the summer off.
He made the Hockey Hall of Fame, the Blues promoted him, and his two sons ended up teammates in Florida. Asked Monday about the Hall call, the 54-year-old said none of it has landed yet.
“It really hasn’t sunk in,” Tkachuk told Nicholas J. Cotsonika of NHL.com. “Once hockey season starts, once we get back into training camp and it gets closer, before you know it it’ll be right here.”
Rather than enjoy any of it from a golf cart, Tkachuk sat in the stands at WFCU Centre in Windsor on Monday, scouting teenagers at the World Junior Summer Showcase for USA Hockey. He explained why he keeps turning up at rinks in July.
“There’s something about being on a team that’ll never change,” he said. “The easiest thing to do is sit in Florida or St. Louis and play golf, but I love being around the guys.”
That call landed June 22, a day after the Senators traded Brady to the Panthers. Tkachuk goes in with Patrice Bergeron, Carey Price and Pekka Rinne:
Roughly 800 text messages came in once the news broke. A speech is due for the Nov. 9 ceremony in Toronto, and his wife, Chantal, has the party under control.
“The Tkachuks know how to throw a party,” he said. “That’s for sure.”
Catch the family’s first comments on the induction:
Tkachuk scored 538 goals and 1,065 points in 1,201 games with Winnipeg, Phoenix, St. Louis and Atlanta. Only Mike Modano (561) has more goals among American-born players.
His new title in St. Louis is adviser to the president of hockey operations, part of a busy summer of front office moves under Doug Armstrong and new general manager Alexander Steen.
Brady’s trade to Florida arrived June 21, a Father’s Day present in Tkachuk’s telling. The brothers skated on the same line for the United States at the Olympics in February and regroup in Fort Lauderdale next month.
Dad has their first home game together circled, against the Wild on Oct. 10. He was asked what it means to see them in the same lineup.
“They’re both pumped,” Tkachuk said. “They’re finally playing together (in the NHL), so I’m looking forward to that. They’re best friends. They’re only 20 months apart.”
Matthew and Brady made their own case for their old man on their podcast:
Then came the caveat.
“But I hope it’s not like when they were, like, 6 years old and 8 years old, fighting all the time with each other,” he said.
