- Matthew Tkachuk explained why Florida fits Brady better than Ottawa did
- He said Brady had to “wear a lot of hats” as the Senators’ young captain
- Read below for the full Pat McAfee Show comments and video
Matthew Tkachuk thinks his brother is going to be a lot happier in South Florida. And the way he explained it doubled as a shot at Brady’s old situation in Ottawa.
The Panthers star joined Brady on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday, a day after the Senators traded their captain to Florida, and Matthew laid out why he thinks the move sets Brady up to take off.
“Brady had to wear a lot of hats playing up in Ottawa,” Matthew said. “Being a young captain, playing in Canada, just dealing with a lot of stuff, whether it’s in his control or not, which is unfortunate in the business.”
Then came the line that got everyone talking, with Matthew describing how players operate inside Florida’s room.
“The best part of playing down here, and this might sound a little bit bad, but we’re just pieces of meat down here,” he said. “You do one role. You wear one hat. You don’t have to do someone else’s job.”
Watch the brothers break it down:
The message was clear. In Florida, Brady gets to be one part of a deep, win-now group instead of carrying a franchise on his back.
Brady spent eight seasons in Ottawa, five of them as captain. He put up 59 points in 60 games this past season before the Senators were swept by Carolina in the first round.
Brady has already said the move was about chasing a Cup, not about teaming up with his brother. Matthew is the one selling the family angle.
Matthew won back-to-back titles in 2024 and 2025 after forcing his own way out of Calgary in 2023. Now he gets to share a locker room with the brother he grew up battling in the driveway.
The brothers said they found out about the deal together at a Father’s Day brunch, with Matthew calling it one of the best moments of his life.
“I had my daughter, Millie, on my lap and I was lifting her up like the Stanley Cup,” he said.
