Matthew Tkachuk and Brother Brady Could Be Teammates Again as Panthers Push for Senators Trade

Well that didn’t take long. Just hours after moving a first-round pick in a separate deal, the Florida Panthers are now closing in on a blockbuster trade for Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk. If this goes through, he’d join his younger brother Matthew Tkachuk in Sunrise. Yes, the same Matthew who just helped him win a gold medal for Team USA.

TSN’s Pierre LeBrun broke the news Sunday afternoon. According to LeBrun, the Panthers are nearing a deal that would send three first-round picks and a second-round pick to Ottawa. He said the ninth overall pick this year and the 25th overall pick are both expected to be included, along with a 2029 first-rounder and a 2030 second-rounder.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman quickly confirmed the structure. He posted the specifics: picks 9 and 25 in this year’s draft, a 2029 first-round pick, and a second-round pick in 2030. Friedman didn’t add much commentary. Just the facts.

The Panthers got the 25th pick earlier Sunday by trading forward Mackie Samoskevich to the Seattle Kraken. That move alone raised eyebrows. Now it looks like it was part of a bigger plan. Florida essentially flipped Samoskevich and some future picks into a shot at landing one of the league’s most physical power forwards.

Why This Trade Makes Sense for Both Sides

For the Panthers, this is a win-now move with a family twist. Brady Tkachuk, 25, is exactly the kind of big, mean, skilled forward this team loves. He’d slot in alongside his brother and give Florida a terrifyingly nasty top six. The Panthers just won the Stanley Cup last season. They’re not interested in rebuilding. They want to stay on top.

Ottawa, on the other hand, gets a massive haul of draft capital. Three first-round picks for a player who hadn’t publicly requested a trade? That’s a return you don’t turn down. The Senators have been stuck in mediocrity for years. This gives them a chance to restock their pipeline and maybe make a few more moves this offseason. It’s a reset, not a tear-down.

Neither team has confirmed the trade. But LeBrun and Friedman don’t drop stuff like this unless it’s close. Expect an announcement soon. Possibly as early as Monday.

The NHL draft is this week. So this timing isn’t random. Florida now holds two first-round picks — unless they’re sending both to Ottawa — and the front office is clearly making aggressive calls. Whether this trade officially goes through or falls apart at the last second, it’s already the biggest story of the offseason.