But it was hard to ignore the reality of what was ahead once the Panthers’ plane touched down here on Tuesday, once he checked into a hotel where he hadn’t stayed since development camp, once he sat down to dinner with his now-former teammates, once he arrived at Canadian Tire Centre at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, interacting with staff who had been part of his daily life for his first eight NHL seasons.
It was hard to ignore that, in a few short hours, he would be taking the ice against the Senators (7:30 p.m. ET; Prime, SCRIPPS) for the first time.
“I tried not to think about it because there was important games before then,” Tkachuk said. “Of course, it’s always in the back of my mind. But for me, it was when we landed here it kind of hit that now we’re back here, now the excitement, all the emotions came flowing in.
“To be able to be back here, like I’ve said a lot, it’s a special place to me.”
But the specialness of that return -- the memories of the 473 points (219 goals, 254 assists) he had in 581 games, the memories of the Stanley Cup Playoffs the past two seasons after Ottawa missed for seven straight -- may not exactly be at the forefront for the Senators fans set on attending, given how exactly the divorce transpired.
Last season, Tkachuk made it clear he would not be re-signing with Ottawa at the end of his contract, a seven-year deal he signed on Oct. 14, 2021, which lasts through the 2027-28 season. In response, the Senators traded him to the Panthers, where his brother, Matthew Tkachuk, plays, on June 21, with three first-round picks in the NHL Draft (two in 2026 and a conditional in 2029) plus a second-round selection in 2027 going to Ottawa.
“I’ve talked about a lot, there’s professional reasons, personal reasons, why I wasn’t going to re-sign here and a lot of those things remain private between (general manager Steve Staios) and I, and it’s going to remain private,” Tkachuk said. “It just happened to work out this way.”
But that doesn’t mean that many fans are happy about what happened, or that they’ve forgiven or forgotten.
“Everybody is entitled to their opinions, whatever their emotions may be, that they’re entitled to it,” Tkachuk said. “I know, for me, it’s not going to be taken personally. I know how I feel about this city, about this fanbase and how thankful and appreciative that I am. And that’s no matter what the reaction’s going to be, it’s not going to change how I feel about this city and this fan base.”
Asked how those fans should welcome Tkachuk back, Panthers coach Paul Maurice said, “However they feel.
“Like, that’s what this is all about. It’s OK. If you’re unhappy, come unhappy. If you loved watching him play, come love watching him play. If you’re jilted, be jilted. Bring the passion. Bring whatever it is that you feel. Don’t come mad because the guy beside you is mad or happy because the guy beside you is happy. That’s what hockey and pro sports is all about. Let it all fly. Go enjoy it.”
Which is to say that Tkachuk -- and the Panthers -- are prepared for boos.
But Tkachuk, who captained the Senators for his final five seasons here, is also prepared for emotions to hit.
“I just know how special it’s going to be for me just to be there in front of the fans that supported me and was just there for eight years, ever since I got in the League, they were always supporting me and my family,” Tkachuk said. “Just to be out there, I’ve had so many great memories here that I’ll have forever.
“I don’t know what the exact emotion’s going to be, but I just know how thankful and how appreciative I am for everything that’s happened the last eight years.”
Tkachuk certainly hasn’t seemed like the approaching date with Ottawa has been weighing on him. After having no points in his first five games with Florida, Tkachuk has 10 (six goals, four assists) in the past four, including consecutive games with a natural hat trick.
“It’s never easy to start a season like that when you expected so much more out of you and the first few games he didn’t score, but he had his chances,” teammate Radko Gudas said. “Now a few of them have gone in for him. Everybody’s really happy for him because it was inevitable.”
They’re also happy because it has meant the Panthers (5-2-2) are winning. They sit tied with the Senators (6-3-0) for third in an Atlantic Division that is expected to be tight all season long.
Which is why this game is crucial for more than just Tkachuk’s return.
“Everybody’s excited for the game,” Gudas said. “We’re excited for Brady to take the two points away from his old team.”
Tkachuk called the game a “once-in-a-lifetime moment,” a game to say goodbye, to close the door, to be able to move on fully from the Senators to the Panthers, from the past to the future.
He said he knows what he had given to Ottawa, what that chapter had been like, what he hoped his legacy as a member of the team had been, no matter what happened when the puck is dropped on Wednesday night.
“Blood, sweat and tears,” Tkachuk said. “I gave absolutely everything I had. I try to do that every single night, whether it’s for myself, scoring a big goal, or just bringing the emotion and physicality. And I know after each game I can always look in the mirror, knowing I gave it all. So, hopefully that’s my legacy, of a guy that brought it 100 percent all the time.”
