Brady Tkachuk made his first trip back to Ottawa as an opponent on Tuesday night, and the Canadian Tire Centre crowd let him know exactly how it felt about his departure.
Tkachuk requested a trade from the Senators after he and the U.S. men’s hockey team beat Canada for gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, a result that fueled months of speculation about his commitment to the franchise. By summer, Ottawa dealt him to the division-rival Florida Panthers, where he now plays alongside his brother Matthew.
Fans at the arena made their feelings known throughout the night, including with chants of “You eat crayons” directed at Tkachuk.
Tkachuk, who has been on a scoring tear that has included back-to-back natural hat tricks, opened the game’s scoring. The Senators answered with five straight goals to win 5-1.
The crowd booed a tribute video played for Tkachuk during the game. Rather than brush it off, Tkachuk responded with an exaggerated victory lap on the ice. He also had exchanges with former teammates, including Ridley Greig. Some fans threw their old Tkachuk jerseys onto the ice in response.
Tkachuk did not address the reception directly in his postgame interview, according to the original report.
Ottawa Senators owner Michael Andlauer has previously claimed that Keith Tkachuk and Matthew Tkachuk influenced Brady’s trade request.
