Brady Tkachuk goes back to Ottawa on Wednesday, 21 October, four months after the trade that sent the Senators’ captain to Florida. He arrives in form. After five games without a point, he has six goals in his last three games, including back-to-back natural hat tricks at Columbus and at home against Vancouver. He added two assists in his latest game, at home against Seattle, an 8-3 win.
The Panthers play at Canadian Tire Centre at 7:30 p.m. ET, and in Canada the game is on Prime, according to the NHL’s broadcast listing. It is the first of four meetings between the clubs this season, and Florida’s 10th game.
Brady Tkachuk’s form since the trade
The goals came in a rush. At Columbus on 13 October he scored three in a row in the second period, two of them on the power play, and the first was set up by his brother Matthew. Florida won 7-3.
Two nights later Vancouver led 2-0 in Florida until he took over. He scored at 11:11 of the third, tied the game with 13 seconds left in regulation and won it 2:23 into overtime. He has six goals and 10 points in nine games this season, from 32 shots. Our story on his Panthers start has the game-by-game.
The Brady Tkachuk trade: what Ottawa got
Florida sent Ottawa two 2026 first-round picks, Nos. 9 and 25, plus a 2027 second-round pick and a conditional 2029 first on 21 June. Two days later the Senators moved the ninth pick to San Jose for William Eklund, Kasper Halttunen and Brandon Svoboda, and the Sharks used it on Keaton Verhoeff. Ottawa kept No. 25 and took Jonas Lagerberg Hoen.
The early return is thin. Eklund has one goal and one assist in four games for the Senators and is now on injured reserve with an ankle injury. Halttunen and Svoboda have yet to play an NHL game, and the 2027 second and the conditional 2029 first are still to come. Every deal since June is on our NHL trade tracker.
Brady Tkachuk contract
The contract moved with him. Tkachuk signed a seven-year, US$57.5 million deal with Ottawa on 14 October 2021, with a salary-cap hit of US$8,205,714 a season, according to CapWages. It runs through 2027-28, so he can become an unrestricted free agent in July 2028. NHL contracts are paid in US dollars.
His Ottawa years at Canadian Tire Centre
He knows the building. Tkachuk scored 213 goals and 463 points in 572 regular-season games over eight seasons in Ottawa, and 115 of those goals came at home, in 283 games at Canadian Tire Centre. He was captain from 2021 until the trade.
The team he left has started well without him. The Senators are 6-3-0 under new captain Thomas Chabot, who is now on ESPN’s injury list, and Linus Ullmark is 6-1-0 in goal after the injury scare that cost him one game.
Ottawa’s scoring without him
Someone had to replace his goals. Tim Stützle leads the Senators with 12 points after nine games, ahead of Drake Batherson (six points) and Claude Giroux (six points). In Florida, Matthew Tkachuk has three goals and 14 points in nine games, so the brothers are Florida’s top two scorers.
Senators vs Panthers: the season series
Florida are 5-2-2. Last season they won three of the four meetings, and Ottawa’s only win was 5-1 at home on 9 April. After Wednesday the clubs meet twice in Florida, on 25 November and 18 January, and again in Ottawa on 18 March.
Both sides have absences. ESPN’s injury list has Florida without Radko Gudas, Brad Marchand, Aleksander Barkov and Jonah Gadjovich, and Ottawa without Thomas Chabot, William Eklund and Kurtis MacDermid. Our how to watch NHL in Canada guide covers the broadcasters.
For bettors, check the injury news and the starting goalies before Wednesday’s lines settle. Our Stanley Cup odds page has both clubs’ futures. Odds may change. 19+ (18+ in AB/MB/QC). Please play responsibly.
Brady Tkachuk return FAQs
Wednesday, 21 October 2026, when Florida play at Canadian Tire Centre at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Two 2026 first-round picks (Nos. 9 and 25), a 2027 second-round pick and a conditional 2029 first. Ottawa traded the ninth pick to San Jose for William Eklund, Kasper Halttunen and Brandon Svoboda.
Seven years and US$57.5 million, signed with Ottawa on 14 October 2021, with a cap hit of US$8,205,714. It runs through 2027-28.
213 goals and 463 points in 572 regular-season games, 115 of the goals at home.
On Prime, according to the NHL’s broadcast listing.
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