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Senators fans give Brady Tkachuk cold reception in return to Ottawa
Florida Panthers left wing Brady Tkachuk. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Senators fans give Brady Tkachuk well-deserved cold reception in return to Ottawa

By Adam Gretz  |  Last updated Oct 21, 2026 8:49 PM ET
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After spending eight seasons as a member of the Ottawa Senators, forward Brady Tkachuk made his first return on Wednesday night as a visiting player with the Florida Panthers.

The locals were not happy to see him and gave him the harsh, icy reception that his exit deserved. 

Senators fans delivered the message they should have to Brady Tkachuk

The Senators traded Tkachuk this offseason after he made it known he was not going to re-sign with the team at the conclusion of his current contract, and then reportedly requested a trade out of Ottawa (with two years remaining on his contract) with the intent of landing with the Panthers.

He is one of several members of the 2026 United States Olympic team that tried to force a trade this offseason, joining Detroit Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin and Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck. 

While Tkachuk was able to get his wish, Larkin and Hellebuyck are still waiting.

A lot of it has been about the players from that team wanting to continue to play alongside one another, or get themselves into a better position to win in the NHL.

In Brady's case, going to Florida not only puts him on a team that has played in three of the past four Stanley Cup Finals and won two of the past three, but it also allows him to play alongside his brother, Matthew Tkachuk. 

Senators owner Michael Andlauer said a month ago that it was his belief Tkachuk's brother and dad, Hockey Hall of Fame forward Keith Tkachuk, were in Matthew's ear and pushed him to force his way to Florida. 

Given the circumstances, it should have been expected that fans would not be eager to give him a warm welcome.

They did not give him a warm welcome. 

After booing him for the entirety of the pregame warmups, several chants erupted during pregame ceremonies and the early parts of the first period.

The chants ranged from the tame "Brady sucks" and "we don't need you" to more vulgar chants that included expletives and downright insulting chants regarding his intelligence. 

Tkachuk silenced a lot of that early in the first period when he scored a power-play goal to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead, only adding to the chaos of the night. 

The Senators fan reaction is the story here, and let's be honest, it's a well-deserved reaction.

The Senators putting together a "welcome back" tribute video that a lot of teams do for long-time players in their return to a city was also probably more than they needed to do. They were under no obligation to do anything along those lines. They probably should have ignored him entirely. 

You don't always have to do that for every former player that comes back.

It was a similar story for the Columbus Blue Jackets and their fans on Tuesday night when forward Kirill Marchenko made his first return as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs after he forced his way out this summer.

(Columbus fans also booed Marchenko, while the organization had no official welcome back video for him.)

Tkachuk may have been a good player and the team's captain for a few years, but that's all he was. 

He wasn't somebody who won anything significant there. 

The Senators made two playoff appearances in eight years, won only two playoff games, and never advanced beyond the first round, with Tkachuk failing to record a single point in a lifeless four-game sweep to end the 2025-26 season. 

He had two years remaining on his contract and not only bailed on it, but he also tied the hands of management by limiting where he would accept a trade and potentially hurting their chances of making a better deal. 

Why should fans be welcoming of that? Why should they remember the good times, when there were no good times? Why is the organization doing anything to mark the occasion? This guy didn't want to play there, made that very clear, and managed to make sure that became a reality.

He received the welcome-back he deserved, and nobody should blame Senators fans for it. They sent the message they should have. 

Adam Gretz

Adam Gretz is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. He covers the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA. Baseball is his favorite sport -- he is nearly halfway through his goal of seeing a game in every MLB ballpark. Catch him on X @AGretz

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