Brady Tkachuk is officially a Florida Panther, and he’s already got his number picked out.
The Panthers landed the 26-year-old forward from Ottawa on Sunday in a deal that sent three first-round picks and a second-rounder the other way. Florida gave up its 2026 first-round pick, Tampa Bay’s 2026 first-rounder (previously acquired through Seattle), a 2027 second-round pick, and a top-10 protected 2029 first-round selection. It’s a heavy price, but the payoff is clear: Brady now joins his brother Matthew in Sunrise.
On Monday morning, the team confirmed Tkachuk will wear No. 8 with the Panthers. He wore No. 7 throughout his time with the Senators, but that number belongs to Dmitry Kulikov in Florida. Funny enough, his dad Keith Tkachuk wore No. 8 during part of his run with the Atlanta Thrashers. Brady becomes the 16th player in franchise history to rock that number, joining names like Val Bure, Peter Worrell, and Kyle Okposo. Dallas Eakins was the first to wear it back in the team’s second season.
What the Panthers Are Getting
Tkachuk played 60 games this past season and put up 59 points (22 goals, 37 assists). He tied for third in team scoring and ranked second in points per game at .98. His faceoff percentage hit a career-best 57.6 percent. He also threw 162 hits, third-most among Senators skaters.
Over eight seasons in Ottawa, from 2018-19 through this year, Tkachuk racked up 463 points in 572 games (213 goals, 250 assists). He captained the Senators for five seasons. The guy has seven 20-goal seasons and strung together three straight 30-goal campaigns from 2021-22 to 2023-24. He piled up 1,921 hits, 2,202 shots, 62 power-play goals, 28 game-winners, and 821 penalty minutes — all franchise-leading totals during his tenure. Ottawa drafted him fourth overall in 2018.
He just won gold with Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, putting up 5 points in 6 games. Before that, he took gold at the 2016 U18 Worlds and bronze at the 2018 World Juniors. At Boston University back in 2017-18, he led the team with 23 assists.
Brady has two years left on the seven-year, $57.56 million deal he signed in October 2021. Now he and Matthew get to chase a Cup together.
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