Флорида Пантерс бүрэлдэхүүнээ хүчирхэгжүүлж, Стэнлийн цомын төлөөх өрсөлдөөнд эргэн ирэхийг зорьж буй бол Оттава Сенаторс өөрсдийн боломжоо хадгалж үлдэхээр төлөвлөж байна.
Брэди Ткачук Флорида Пантерс багт нэгдсэнээр тус баг дахин аваргын төлөө өрсөлдөхүйц бүрэлдэхүүнтэй боллоо. Тэрээр ах Мэттью Ткачуктайгаа нэг багт тоглох хүсэлдээ хөтлөгдөн Оттава Сенаторс багаас солилцоо хийхийг шаардсан нь лигийн хүрээнд багагүй дуулиан тарьсан юм. Флорида Пантерс багийн хувьд ахлагч Александр Барков гэмтлээс эргэн ирж, хаалгач Якоб Маркстром багийн үндсэн хаалгачаар томилогдсон нь ирэх улирлын өрсөлдөөнд чухал нөлөө үзүүлнэ.
Өнгөрсөн улиралд 60 тоглолтод 59 оноо авсан Брэди Ткачук шинэ багтаа олон талт туршлагатай тоглогчидтой хамт тоглохдоо сэтгэл хангалуун байгаагаа илэрхийлжээ. Тэрээр Флорида Пантерс багийн аварга багийн сэтгэлгээ, ялалтад тэмүүлэх эрмэлзэл нь өөрийнх нь удирдагчийн хувьд өсөж хөгжихөд чухал ач холбогдолтой гэж үзэж байна. Александр Барков ч шинэ тоглогчоо багтаа нэгдсэнд баяртай байгаагаа илэрхийлж, түүний түрэмгий, физик тоглолт багийн довтолгоонд үнэ цэнтэй нэмэр болно гэдгийг онцоллоо.
Оттава Сенаторс багийн хамгаалагч Жейк Сандерсон Брэди Ткачукийг багаа орхисон ч тэдний баг хүчтэй хэвээр үлдэнэ гэдэгт итгэлтэй байна. Түүний үзэж буйгаар Оттава Сенаторс сүүлийн хоёр улирал дараалан playoffs-т шалгарсан бөгөөд Стэнлийн цом хүртэх боломжтой баг бүрдүүлсэн хэвээр байгаа юм. Хоёр тал удахгүй NHL-ийн Atlantic Division-ий хүрээнд талбай дээрээ нүүр тулах бөгөөд энэхүү тоглолт олны анхаарлыг татаж байна.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
LAS VEGAS — Brady Tkachuk and Jake Sanderson were roaming the same hallways of the same sprawling Las Vegas resort Tuesday morning, scheduled for a series of interviews one after the other, their paths destined to cross multiple times over the course of the day.
Awkward? Hardly.
“We already got breakfast,” Tkachuk said with a laugh. “He’s one of my best friends.”
The reception might be a tad frostier in six weeks when Tkachuk’s Florida Panthers — no, the Tkachuks’ Florida Panthers —roll into Ottawa for an Atlantic Division showdown at Canadian Tire Center.
Tkachuk is ready for it, whatever “it” looks and sounds like.
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“Whatever it is, it just shows how great of a fan base it is,” he said at the NHL/NHLPA player media tour. “If it’s negative, it just shows how passionate the fans are, and how I enjoyed playing in front of them and how special it was. If it’s positive, I’m just really grateful for my time there. I’m not sure what to expect, but I know I’m just going to be excited to get back there and see a lot of people I care about.”
Of course, a very big reason Tkachuk is plying his trade in South Florida is one of the people he cares most about: his brother, Matthew. It’ll take a long time and a lot of hand-wringing to untie the Gordian knot of Tkachuk’s departure from the Senators. Mere months after declaring his love for and dedication to the Canadian capital, Tkachuk forced a trade to Florida. Nearly every hot-button issue in the league played into this one — the trend of American players muscling their way out of Canada, the alleged power of the now-mythical Team USA group chat to reshape the league landscape, the allure of a no-tax state with warm weather and little scrutiny, even the Tkachuks’ podcast.
But uniting with his brother trumped all of that. Something to bear in mind as Quinn Hughes, who takes his turn on the player media tour on Wednesday, ponders his own future.
“There’s also a lot of information and narratives out there that aren’t completely true,” Tkachuk said. “But (it was) a lot of time, a lot of reflection, and it wasn’t an easy decision. It was a really, really hard decision, and something that was emotional. It took a lot of time to get to that.”
Now that Tkachuk is safely ensconced among the palm trees, the question becomes: Are the Panthers back? After three consecutive Stanley Cup finals and two championships, Florida tumbled out of the playoff picture entirely last season. With Brady Tkachuk in the fold, with captain Aleksander Barkov back from the knee injury that cost him the 2025-26 season, with Jacob Markstrom taking the No. 1 goalie mantle from Sergei Bobrovsky, and with a desperately needed long summer of rest, are the Panthers once again the team to beat in the NHL?
“That’s our dream, that’s our goal,” Barkov said. “But for us, it’s always been a day at a time. … Of course, we added unreal players. We added unreal leaders to our team and we’re really excited about that, too.”
For Tkachuk, it’s been eye-opening to hit the ice with his new teammates. Ottawa certainly wasn’t hurting for talent, including Tim Stützle and Sanderson, but Florida’s depth of star power is perhaps unrivaled. In Ottawa, Tkachuk was the captain and was counted on to be The Guy. In Florida, he’s just another leader, just another guy. Up front, there’s Matthew Tkachuk, there’s Barkov, there’s Sam Reinhart, there’s Sam Bennett, there’s Brad Marchand, there’s Anton Lundell and there’s Carter Verhaeghe. On the back end, there’s Aaron Ekblad and Seth Jones and Gustav Forsling.
Even as a three-time 30-goal scorer, coming off a nearly point-a-game season (59 in 60 games), Brady Tkachuk can just blend in. Well, as much as one of the league’s biggest personalities and irascible players can blend in.
“Just to be a part of it — there’s some amazing hockey players there,” Tkachuk said. “Just being on the ice, it’s incredible to see the different skill sets that guys have. I think we have four or five former captains or captain-like guys on our team. Just to learn from their past experiences, how they shaped who they are, I’m excited about the growth for myself from a leadership aspect, as well. I’m not captain anymore, but to still grow and become a better leader, it’s something that’s important to me, too.”
The Panthers’ attitude, that well-earned arrogance that only champions have, has struck Tkachuk, as well.
“It’s a great group of guys,” he said. “Special. They keep talking about last year and the motivation that they have. They’re not even talking about the two Cups before that. They’re still so focused on last year and the motivation that it created for this year. I’m really excited to be a part of that.”
For Barkov, that hunger is almost hard to describe. He said he felt like he had lost his identity to a degree, “not to live life as a hockey player for the Florida Panthers.” The emotional challenge was severe, but Barkov tried to spin it into a positive — a rare mid-career opportunity to reset physically and mentally.
Barkov described the Panthers’ 2023 loss in the Stanley Cup Final as “the best thing that could have happened to us,” saying it gave them the fuel and the knowledge necessary to reel off consecutive titles. The hope in Florida is that last season’s crushing disappointment will have a similar effect.
“The guys did what they could, they battled hard every single night, they gave their all, but (there were) a lot of injuries, a lot of adversity and (it) wasn’t the outcome any of us wanted,” Barkov said. “Now it’s just, put that past us, take all the hunger and energy from there. And now we’re really excited about the new opportunity this season.”
The new face with the familiar name — and all the controversy and excitement and drama he brings — should only help.
“Well, it’s way better to have him on the same team than playing against you, for sure, knowing how tough it always was to play against Brady,” Barkov said. “He’s one of the guys you always circle from the lineup. You need to be aware of him. Literally anything he does is dangerous. He can score, he can make you pay, he plays physical, aggressive, and he has that skill, too. I’m really excited to have him on the same team.”
As for Ottawa? Well, Tkachuk will be seeing a lot of his old mates as they battle it out in the Atlantic Division meat grinder. And while Tkachuk’s departure from Ottawa might put Florida back over the top, Sanderson firmly believes it won’t send the Senators tumbling back to the bottom. After all, it’s not as if Tkachuk forced his way out of Ottawa because the franchise wasn’t going anywhere. The Senators have made the playoffs each of the last two seasons, and they very much plan to extend that streak.
And maybe run into an old friend once they get there.
“We still will (be good),” Sanderson said. “For me, the way I look at it, I’m not surprised that Brady would want to go play with his brother. I don’t think anybody should be surprised, so I don’t blame him for that. But absolutely, I think we’re a team that’s getting a lot better and has a window here to win a Stanley Cup.”
