Matthew Tkachuk knows exactly what his younger brother is worth. “He’s a beast. He will probably be the toughest guy in the league to play against in a playoff series.” And the Panthers alternate captain was right on the money. What did we get to see? A valiant fightback led by Brady Tkachuk against the Toronto Maple Leafs that made every Senators fan proud. Eventually, their gallant run ended on May 1st. And now the Senators captain is signing off for the season with a bittersweet message and a whole lot of positives.

No, it’s really not that easy to talk to the reporters after such a result. Especially when you are Brady Tkachuk, a fierce competitor, but also a passionate personality. His teammate Jake Sanderson described his captain perfectly: “He doesn’t take a shift off … he’s the heart and soul of our team.”

Being a leader, the Senators’ Tkachuk sent out a proud message for the locker room after the match. “I’m really proud of this team, I’m really proud of every single guy in this room, everybody that even wasn’t playing, um, staff trainers, everybody, everybody in this organization.” But he was visibly broken up as the Senators’ postseason ended with a 4-2 series score.

What hurt him the most is that he truly believed he could do it. He could turn the series around. Playing the first playoff after 8 seasons, the Senators got off to the worst start possible, going 3-0 down in the first 3 games. But Brady dreamt of a Red Sox-like fairytale. Even though this was his 1st ever playoff appearance. But that’s just a Brady Tkachuk thing. Something that Matthew Tkachuk knows very well about. No mountain can scare his brother off.

He gave his all. 4 goals and 3 assists in 6 playoff games. He even started the fightback by scoring the goal in the final game when the Senators were trailing 2-0. But unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be. The game also ended 4-2. But Tkachuk knows everything happens for a reason. And this loss is all but a lesson. “We’re going to take these lessons and be that much better because of it.”

When the reporter asked what particular lessons did the Senators captain learn from his first playoff, Brady Tkachuk straight away went to his team. “Well, I mean just the character we have in this room, first and foremost.” Continuing, the forward added, “I knew it all along, but to battle back and even battle back in this game.” When David Perron tied the score 2-2 in the 3rd period with a brilliant manoeuvre, the Canadian Tire Centre erupted. It was exactly what the fans had come to see.

And the response of the fans is not lost on the captain. In fact, despite bowing out for the season, the fans inside the Canadian Tire Centre gave the Senators a warm sendoff, giving a standing ovation to acknowledge the stylish gameplay and the grit they have shown. And especially Brady Tkachuk. They cheered his name, the whole Arena vibrating to the echoes of his name. Maybe that’s why it is so difficult to take this defeat for Tkachuk. “To see this city, see this fan base; and really wanted to do it for them … they came out and did their job.”

But this is not how the story ends. Not how the leader of the Ottawa Senators would leave it. He is signing off from the 2024-25 season with a promise. “It’s going to be a long couple months here, but I know myself and this rest of the group here … they’re going to come with a lot of fire next year.” And that will be music to the Senators fan base.

After all, Brady Tkachuk has repeatedly said it’s the playoffs that matter. And all his preparation has been to follow in his brother’s footsteps, whose words of wisdom were what guided him in this season.

Matthew Tkachuk’s wisdom helped Brady inspire the Senators

Brady Tkachuk would now join his family in cheering for his brother, who already has 76 playoff appearances under his belt. Yes, the Panthers forward is rather a regular when it comes to playoff battles. And his brotherly advice for Brady went like this, as shared by The Athletic on April 20, 2025: “The big thing is whatever happens that game, the next game is a new game. If you win one, you’re not going to win the series off one game. It’s just all about resetting.”

No doubt, it helped to mentally prepare in the playoffs when the Senators went down 3-0 straight away. One game at a time. Small targets, but big impact. It definitely helped the Senators to fight against the Maple Leafs, who were not only the division winners but are amongst the front-runners to win the 2025 Stanley Cup.

Maybe this time, the Senators couldn’t bring it home. But they have a young squad, and they are developing. And this ‘resetting’ approach did come in handy for the Senators to book the wildcard spot. Brady Tkachuk had a different name for it – “Game 7 mentality”. As in, every game is a must-win. And the Senators needed to get into that mindset to end their playoff drought.

Senators defenseman Sanderson shared, “He (Brady) was just saying it every single game for a month straight.” And it was exactly what was needed. Fellow D-man Thomas Chabot added, “It was the mentality we needed to have for the rest of the season. We knew it was going to be tough … to get a playoff spot. We knew each game was going to be intense and difficult to win.”

And the result? 16 wins in 26 remaining games, helping the Senators through the home stretch as they recorded the 10th-best record in the NHL over the period. Just the rewards of having a food company. But one day, Brady Tkachuk and Matthew Tkachuk will come face to face in the playoffs. And it will be a blockbuster Tkachuk battle.

But for now, one brother keeps moving forward while the other resets for the 2025-26 season.