The 4 Nations Face-off is upon us, and never surprisingly, the roster for Team USA includes Florida Panthers assistant captain Matthew Tkachuk and Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk.
The brothers are the sons of former NHL forward Keith Tkachuk, who played for america internationally within the Olympics in addition to helping them win the 1996 World Cup.
Matthew Tkachuk, who has helped the Panthers to 2 straight Stanley Cup Final appearances culminating in a championship win last spring, goes into the tournament with a Game 7 mentality for every contest, via NHL.com.
“It brings me right back to the Stanley Cup Final, same mindset,” he said. “These games are as big because it gets for us – we’re talking about 4 Game Sevens.”
Meanwhile, Brady is looking forward to spending time along with his brother, via NHL.com.
“Just attending to see him on a regular basis,” Brady Tkachuk said. “Just benefit from being together. We said this at first, I feel this week and a half can be a few of the most laughs that we’ll ever have. We’ve already had an incredible time together.”
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Matthew Tkachuk helped the Panthers to the Stanley Cup
Hockey fans in all places raised their eyebrows when the Panthers acquired Matthew Tkachuk from the Calgary Flames within the infamous blockbuster trade in July of 2022, sending Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar to Calgary in return.
The deal has essentially had a reverse effect on each franchises, because the Panthers have advanced two consecutive years to the Stanley Cup Final, winning the franchise’s first championship last season. Meanwhile, the Flames have yet to qualify for the playoffs for the reason that trade.
During last spring’s postseason run for the Panthers, Tkachuk scored six goals with 16 assists; the previous season, he scored 11 goals with 13 assists of their unsuccessful run to the Cup Final.
