Things could get "spicy' when the former Senators captain returns to Ottawa in a Panthers jersey.
No date looms larger for fans of the Ottawa Senators than Oct. 21, when Brady Tkachuk makes his return.
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The Senators won’t even put tickets on sale to the general public for the 2026-27 campaign until Tuesday, but speaking to local media on Thursday at the Canadian Tire Centre, club president Cyril Leeder noted that sales for the visit by the Florida Panthers are already “brisk”.
After a trade request, Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager, traded Tkachuk to the Panthers on June 21 in exchange for four draft picks, because he would only waive his no-move clause to play with his brother Matthew.
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Now, the Senators are preparing for the return of the former captain for the first time since he was dealt to the Panthers, and the expectation is that he won’t be welcomed back with open arms by what’s expected to be a packed house of more than 19,000 fans that night.
“That’s going to be up to the fans,” Leeder said. “I don’t think it’s going to be 100 percent one way or the other. Everybody has their own view, their own opinion, and they’ll vote as they see fit when he returns.”
The Senators will give Tkachuk a proper welcome back with a video tribute at the first television timeout because that’s the right thing to do, especially for someone who wore the ‘C’ for five seasons and helped this club have a lot of success.
