Ever since Brady Tkachuk asked the Ottawa Senators for a trade and they shipped him to the division rival Florida Panthers, everyone has had Tuesday night’s game in the Canadian capital marked on their “Far Side” desk calendars.
At least I did, and boy, was it wild.
Tkachuk had been the franchise centerpiece in Ottawa, but things started to change after he and the U.S. men’s hockey team won Olympic gold over Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan.
Florida Panthers forward Brady Tkachuk’s return to Ottawa included signs, chants, and fans Tka-chucking his old jerseys on the ice. (Keito Newman/The Canadian Press via AP)
Remember that? Remember when the U.S. beat Canada for Olympic gold? It was great.
Anyway, that led to repeated questions about his commitment to the franchise. By the summer, that commitment was no more as he asked for a ticket out and landed in South Florida with his brother, Matthew.
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Now, Sens fans were understandably perturbed by this as the club is without a doubt on the rise, and boy, did they make their displeasure known.
I mean, if there are supercuts of the various chants a crowd hurls at a former player, then I think it’s safe to say that the current relationship is frosty at best.
I’ve got to hand it to them; they were creative. I never thought I’d hear an NHL arena chanting “You eat crayons,” but I just did.
But Tkachuk, who has been on a heater lately that included back-to-back natural hat tricks, didn’t let those chants get under his skin. For starters, he scored the opening goal of the game.
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The only downside was that the Senators scored the next five to win 5-1.
But there were more hilarious moments, the biggest being Tkachuk’s full-on heel turn when the team showed a tribute video that got mercilessly booed by the crowd.
Brady Tkachuk salutes the booing crowd during his return to Ottawa. (Marc DesRosiers-Imagn)
While most NHLers would try to downplay it with a quick, subtle wave or nod, Tkachuk did a full victory lap like he was returning after 1,400 games in the league.
That’s an all-timer. Even the angriest Senators fan had to be like, “Alright, that was pretty funny.”
Tkachuk also got into it with his former teammates like Ridley Greig.
Then, as if all of that wasn’t enough, Sens fans started raining down their old Tkachuk jerseys.
What a scene. You don’t see too many returns go down like that. But if Tkachuk was rattled by it, he sure didn’t let it show during his postgame interview.
You’ve got to think that Tkachuk is going to hear something like this any time he steps on the Canadian Tire Centre ice for the rest of his career. Also, probably best to steer clear of any Ottawa area restaurants.
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Y’know, play it safe.