Keith Tkachuk booed at Hockey Hall of Fame Game in Toronto
Brady and Matthew Tkachuk’s actions seem to have reflected on their father. On Sunday night, Keith Tkachuk came out to a chorus of jeers and boo’s in Toronto, as the Maple Leafs hosted the New Jersey Devils in the annual Hockey Hall of Fame Game.
A core piece of the annual Hockey Hall of Fame induction weekend introduces all inductees from that year’s class. When Keith came onto the ice, it wasn’t to a welcoming embrace, as many of the others, including former Leafs rival and Montreal Canadiens legend Carey Price.
Keith Tkachuk is entering the Hall of Fame as a veteran of 1,201 regular-season NHL games, scoring 538 goals and 527 assists for 1,065 points during his time with the Winnipeg Jets, Phoenix Coyotes, St. Louis Blues and Atlanta Thrashers. He also played a vital role for USA Hockey, winning a silver medal at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City and the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.
Yet, his sons have established themselves as some of the most divisive players in the NHL, particularly in Canada, having both beaten Canada with the USA in the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic gold medal hockey game, while Matthew twice beat the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final and Brady forced his way out of the Ottawa Senators to join his brother in South Florida.
And Keith, speaking with The Athletic’s Chris Johnston, recently said Ottawa needs to “move on” from their former captain.
“Yeah, it was interesting,” Keith Tkachuk said. “You know, hey, I don’t have any animosity towards anything. It just happens. It’s still your son. I wish (the Panthers) played better. I was a little more upset at how disappointing they played, and Ottawa played well. They voiced their opinion.
“Brady’s moved on; we’ve moved on; it’s time Ottawa moves on.”
The actions of his children seemed to reflect on Keith, who himself posted a whopping 2,219 penalty minutes, much to the chagrin of fans across the league, and ranked him 41st for the most penalty minutes in NHL history.
On Monday, though, he will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and enshrined in hockey immortality alongside Price, Patrice Bergeron, Brian Burke, Cindy Curly, and Pekka Rinne.
