Senators’ Brady Tkachuk: ‘(Matthew) is on a four-day bender and I’m under the microscope’

Playing for a Canadian team in the NHL always comes with a lot of pressure, and few experience that more than Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk.

Tkachuk already deals with a lot of the pressure of playing in Canada on a normal day, but the past couple of seasons have seen that magnified with NHL players finally participating in international hockey. After the 4 Nations Face-Off last year, Tkachuk had to deal with the United States anthem being booed by Ottawa fans, as the tournament came in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump threatening to annex Canada, and Canadian fans using the opportunity to voice their displeasure.

Now, as Tkachuk has returned from the 2026 Winter Olympics where the United States captured gold, he faces controversy again. As part of the celebration, the U.S. Olympic team visited the White House courtesy of Trump, and participated in the State of the Union address last week. However, considering the controversy surrounding Trump’s presidency, including the fascist-like methods which ICE have operated in and Trump’s links to Jeffrey Epstein, many hockey fans, particularly Canadian ones, were not happy with players visiting the White House during the current political climate.

Tkachuk talked about playing in the Canadian market and the stresses that come with it on his podcast Wingmen alongside his brother Matthew, and even compared it to how much easier his brother has it playing for a team with less media coverage in the Florida Panthers, to which Matthew had a cheeky response.

“[Matthew] is on a four-day bender, and I’m just sitting [in Ottawa/Canada] under the microscope,” Brady said on the podcast.

“Hey Brady, we don’t get asked these questions out in Florida,” Matthew responded.

There have been some rumours surrounding Brady Tkachuk and his long-term future with the Senators, but nothing seriously at this point. However, he has two years remaining on his current contract after this season, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he wants to follow his brother’s career path and move from a Canadian to an American team.