‘I’m going to be nervous’: Panthers’ Brady Tkachuk on Ottawa return

The Florida Panthers forward will return to Ottawa for the first time since being traded to take on the Senators.

Tkachuk spent the first eight years of his career with the Senators and the final five as captain. He was traded early in the off-season to the Panthers after he requested a trade.

"I think, once we get there, it’s going to hit a little more," Tkachuk said. "Now it still feels like that game you circle on the calendar, and I bet for a lot of people, can’t believe it’s here, but once we land in Ottawa, set foot and see some of the guys, it’ll be, ‘All right, it’s here.' It’s going to be nervous, I’m going to be nervous. It’s going to be fun, a weird but cool experience, and yeah, I’m looking forward to it."

Tkachuk totalled 213 goals and 250 assists for 463 points in 572 games with the Senators. He also guided them to back-to-back playoff appearances over the last two seasons.

His relationship with the franchise appeared to crumble after he represented the U.S. at the 2026 Winter Olympics and defeated Canada in the gold-medal game.

Even with the bitter ending, Tkachuk knows it will be difficult to return to where he called home for so long.

"Honestly, I haven’t thought of it too much, so I think once we get there, I think for me is kinda using that emotion to my advantage because it is going to be emotional individually and, in the building, so just be able to channel that and use that in the right areas because it’s going to be special for me to be back there," Tkachuk said. "I spent eight great years there and have a lot of great memories; that city made me who I am, so it is going to be a special game."

Tkachuk has heated up over the last week and was named the NHL's first star of the week. He achieved back-to-back natural hat tricks over the past seven days.