‘It comes from a good place’: Brady Tkachuk responds to father Keith’s criticism of Senators
A leader in the nation’s capital is being questioned for his father’s recent remarks.
When speaking to the media after the team’s win over the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night, Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk was asked about comments from his father, long-time NHLer Keith Tkachuk, to what many believed was him taking a shot at the team’s lack of toughness.
Keith joined Brady and his brother, Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk, on a recent episode of their Wingmen podcast earlier this week. When talking about injuries, Keith mentioned how “disgusting” some of the softness of players in today’s game is. Keith also seemed to make a subtle jab at Senators’ goaltender Linus Ullmark in a mocking tone.
“‘I can’t play back-to-backs,” Keith said. “‘Risk management.’ Grant Fuhr played [76] games.”
The remarks on the show certainly made both Matthew and Brady a little uncomfortable, though Matthew and Brady tried to laugh off Keith’s comments.
On Thursday, Brady pointed out that his dad wasn’t talking about the Senators, but rather the Panthers.
Brady Tkachuk on the podcast comments: "I completely respect my dad. He's going to be a Hall of Famer so, I mean, I'm not going to put words in his mouth or explain what he what he said. If you know him, he's an outgoing guy, says kind of what he thinks, and I know it's comes Show more
“I think it was pretty clear you just talked about Florida,” Tkachuk said. “I just don’t know how that got turned, and misconstrued…I thought it was clear as day. He was talking about Florida, but all that other stuff and just people taking and twisting it, just nothing I can do about it.
Brady stated that he talked to his dad after the recording, but that his remarks weren’t meant toward any of the Sens players, also mentioning that he won’t put any more time into what his father might’ve meant.
“There was not one shot. I don’t know how that got twisted. I have to talk about it now, but I thought it was clear as day. He’s talking about the Florida Panthers. … It’s nothing I can say, that people twist and say, I know that I was a part of it, and all those things didn’t come out of my mouth. I mean, I completely respect my dad. He’s going to be a Hall of Famer. I’m not going to put words in his mouth or explain what he said. If you know him, he’s an outgoing guy. He says kind of what he thinks, and I know it comes from a good place.”
It’s not entirely clear whether there will be any repercussions for the episode, but even with Ottawa trying to chase down a playoff spot, the statement from the captain’s father seems to hover over the Sens like a black cloud.