The NHL world is well aware of the heated rivalry between Brady Tkachuk’s Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs. It’s a classic Canadian showdown that has fueled intense matchups over the years. However, in recent times, the Senators and Brady have also developed fierce rivalries with two other teams: the New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers. It is fueled by physical play and emotionally charged encounters on the ice. 

However, despite the growing tension with these teams, Brady Tkachuk recently put those rivalries aside with a surprising and unique gesture. Tkachuk is extremely excited for the upcoming season and playing with his Senators teammates, and on August 3, 2025, he also practiced with two youngsters before the season began. Those two players were Matthew Rempe and Trevor Zegras, keeping the rivalries aside with the New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers. 

The Rangers drafted Rempe in the 2020 NHL Draft but didn’t sign his first NHL deal with the franchise until 2025. He recently signed a two-year, $1.95 million contract with the Rangers. Whereas Trevor Zegras, who currently plays for the Philadelphia Flyers, was originally selected by the Anaheim Ducks in the first round of the 2019 NHL Draft. Just one month ago, the Flyers made a bold move to acquire Zegras in a trade. In return, Philadelphia sent center Ryan Poehling, the Columbus Blue Jackets’ second-round draft pick (45th overall), and their own fourth-round pick in the 2026 draft to Anaheim as part of the deal. 

It wasn’t long ago that Brady and Matt Rempe faced each other. On March 7, Rempe’s New York Rangers defeated the Senators 4-3 in overtime. Prior to that, on January 21, the Senators suffered a humiliating 5-0 loss to the Rangers. In that game, Rempe scored the third goal before Brady Tkachuk clashed with Igor Shesterkin. When Igor and Brady were throwing punches, Matt just jumped. 

While explaining what happened, he said, “I took a couple of punches from Tkachuk. To be honest, it was just a hit on me, and I didn’t really enjoy that because I was between the pipes and him. I didn’t want to jump in, but I saw he got between our guy and their guy, so I just tried to hold him, but he wanted to fight.” Still, Matt Rempe chose to leave those small skirmishes on the ice that day, January 21, and showed true sportsmanship. Today, he was playing with Brady, the same player who hit him not long ago. And to talk about them playing together, though, this is probably the first time Matt is practicing with Brady, he has also practiced with Trevor Zegras last year.

Brady Tkachuk returned to the ice with 100% recovery

On July 14, Brady Tkachuk appeared on the Coming in Hot podcast, where he gave a hopeful health update. The Ottawa Senators captain, Brady Tkachuk, was skating pain-free again and said he’s fully recovered from the lower-body injury that plagued him through the last couple of months of the 2024–25 season. “I feel like I really turned the corner the last couple of weeks and feel back to 100%. I started skating on July 1st, and I’ve been feeling really good. So, I’m happy with the progress and where everything’s at,” Tkachuk said. 

Before saying that, he also added, “I definitely went with a more conservative approach. I wouldn’t say I had anything major, just you know, just (needed) rest. And I think it took six weeks off from not doing anything. hen doing some little rehab exercises, but I really just tried letting rest do its job. And no, I feel great, actually.” The 25-year-old forward admitted the nagging issue had impacted his explosiveness and physical style of play. 

But after weeks of rehab of his hip injury and rest during the offseason, he’s feeling back to 100%. Tkachuk has already returned to skating and is optimistic as the Senators look to bounce back in the upcoming NHL season. Let’s see if he can grab more wins than last season and enter the Stanley Cup Final series, just like his brother, Matthew Tkachuk.