Heartbreaking comments shared by Brady Tkachuk this summer

Earlier this week, Florida Panthers star forward Matthew Tkachuk got to spend his day with the Stanley Cup and wanted his younger brother around fo the special occasion. It was not easy for the Ottawa Senators’ captain to oblige, but he wanted to support his older brother and was around all celebrations for Matthew’s time with the trophy.

Brady Tkachuk however admitted during an appearance on the “ Locked On Senators “ podcast how hard it was on him as a competitor.

“I didn’t even want to go near it,” he said on the podcast. “Matthew had it for 36 hours, it was always around. Matthew had a party of 350 people; 349 people touched it but me. … Pretty cool to see. I think everybody drank out of it, held it with Matthew. Just seeing those images, I’m like, ‘Alright.’ I just kept telling everybody, ‘My party’s gonna be way better,’ just to get him going.”

Brady added: “As a brother, I couldn’t be happier. It’s a dream come true that he accomplished, but for me, it’s something that’s going to be a burning desire until I do it, and I know it’s going to happen.”

Brady Tkachuk has yet to take part in a playoff contest as the Senators last made the postseason in 2016-17, two years before his NHL debut. Ottawa finished 13 points outside of the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference this past season.

However this summer, general manager Steve Staios has begun serious retooling on his roster, acquiring 2023 Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark from the Boston Bruins for a number one starter in Ottawa. He also added a pair of Stanley Cup champions in Michael Amadio and David Perron on July 1.

The Sens’ captain was happy to celebrate his brother’s triumph, and keeps training with him in the offseason. However, he is focused on being the next champion in the family. The Senators open their 2024-25 season against the Panthers on Oct. 10.

“You can’t draw it up any better than that,” Tkachuk said.