Brady Tkachuk to make return to Ottawa on Oct. 21
The Ottawa Senators won’t have to wait long to welcome back their former captain.
The NHL announced the schedule for the 2026-27 season on Thursday, and for many teams, the most notable games they like to mark down is the first time a former player returns with their new team. For the Senators, that comes on October 21st, when winger Brady Tkachuk will play in Ottawa for the first time since he was traded to the Florida Panthers this summer.
Tkachuk’s trade was one of the first moves of the offseason, and it was one of the most surprising trades. The Panthers swung a deal to acquire the Sens captain and reunite him with brother Matthew Tkachuk in Florida, and in return the Senators got three first-round picks (two in 2026 and a top-10 protected pick in 2029) and a second-round pick in 2027. The Senators traded the ninth-overall pick from that trade to the San Jose Sharks to acquire William Eklund, while using the other to draft Jonas Lagerberg Hoen.
What will make Tkachuk’s return to Ottawa must-watch hockey is the reaction from both the team and the fans. While Tkachuk never outright said that he wanted out of Ottawa, there have been plenty of reports since his trade that he had expressed his plans for to not re-sign with the Senators at the conclusion of his contract for multiple seasons.
Tkachuk’s desire to leave likely reached its’ peak after he returned from the 2026 Winter Olympics, where he captured a gold medal with the United States. The aftermath of that team’s success has led to several players from the team wanting to move elsewhere in the league, including a direct trade request from Dylan Larkin, Connor Hellebuyck being shopped around, and trade rumours regarding Auston Matthews and Zach Werenski.
Tkachuk also ended his tenure with the Senators on a sour note on the ice. While he had a solid season after missing the early part of it to a wrist injury, finishing the regular season with 22 goals, 37 assists and 59 points in 60 games, his playoff performance was much more forgettable. The Senators were swept by the eventual Stanley Cup champions in the Carolina Hurricanes, and after starting off the series with a meaningless fight with Jordan Staal (which Tkachuk lost), he went pointless in the four games.