The Tkachuks: Cup Celebration, Game Cover, and Olympic Dreams
Florida Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk lifted the Stanley Cup for the second consecutive season, a historic moment he shared with his father, Keith Tkachuk, who played 18 seasons in the NHL, and his brother, Brady Tkachuk, captain of the Ottawa Senators. The celebration was a reflection of family unity and sporting success.
This month, the Tkachuk family adds a new achievement: they are featured on the cover of the Deluxe edition of NHL 26 by EA Sports. Brady Tkachuk highlighted his father’s influence on his game and preparation, and the honor of sharing the cover with him.
We grew up dreaming of playing like our father. Even now, his influence on how we play and prepare is still huge. It’s an honor to be on the cover. Having him by our side makes everything even better.
Brady Tkachuk
Alofoke Deportes conversed with Matthew and Brady Tkachuk about their experiences in video games, the recent Panthers season, Brady’s future in Ottawa, Matthew’s health, and their opinions on the new NHL collective bargaining agreement.
Initially, both of them, who were among the first players named to the United States men’s ice hockey team for the 2026 Olympics, were asked about their aspirations to conquer gold.Is winning Olympic gold at the 2026 Winter Games in Italy a rematch for the United States against Canada?MATTHEW TKACHUK: I don’t know if I see it as a rematch, but the United States hasn’t been on top in a long time. Canada has dominated the Olympics, the World Cups, and even the world championships, although we recovered a bit this year. They have been the leaders in all of that and the team that we have all been trying to take down.
I don’t think it’s so much a rematch as it is showing how far US hockey has come. We’ve had incredible players and national teams that we’ve admired our whole lives, but who haven’t achieved the goal. Therefore, winning gold would not only fulfill our dreams, but hopefully bring a lot of satisfaction to those who paved the way for us.Brady, you play in a Canadian city while trying to win Olympic gold for the Americans. How is that dynamic?BRADY TKACHUK: Learning from experience, it’s a bit of a different position. All the people who support you day in and day out, now don’t want you to win.
Your childhood dream is to win the Stanley Cup and win a gold medal for your country. I know those have always been our two main goals. But we got into hockey, and a lot of people got into hockey, since the Miracle on Ice of 1980. And now, we have the opportunity to pave the way for the next generation of kids in the United States who might not be playing hockey if they couldn’t experience USA hockey in the Winter Olympics and the possible gold medals.
You’re not just playing for ourselves in that locker room with that group, but you’re really playing for your country and you’re playing for the next generation of kids. And as Matthew said, you’re playing for the guys who have paved the way, who are going to be so supportive and will be so excited to see you.Title of the publication: The Tkachuk brothers are two of the six players who have already been named to the 2026 Olympic team.
They were asked about their history playing video games together.
MATTHEW TKACHUK: Yes, we used to play. I think during COVID was probably the last time I played religiously, and that was when we were all under one roof before I had my house in St. Louis. Brady and I played a lot. NHL is definitely one of them. I think Brady has played more during his life than I have, and that was one of the things he was much better at than me. So, I didn’t really play much against him.
We played the game as you would probably expect us to play: Turn off all penalties, make all the guys really big and fast. It was like NHL prison rules. So it was a lot of fun.
BRADY TKACHUK: Honestly, I feel like we had a pretty religious routine. Right after school, if it was a good day, we’d go out and play roller hockey, then dinner, and then we’d play NHL. We tried to sneak in a best-of-seven if it was early enough, but it was a lot of fun. Either we played together or, most of the time, we played against each other and it was a lot of fun.
Now that they’re in the NHL, what’s the level of interest or concern among the guys when it comes to their EA Sports ratings? Do they still care?
MATTHEW TKACHUK: We don’t talk about that much. I know there’s a day, maybe at the beginning of the year, that I guess will be coming up soon, where you check your rating or guess another player’s rating. I think where they get mad is when you guess their rating and it’s much lower than their actual rating.
You have to be careful with who the sensitive guys on the team are because you don’t want that to affect them, and you never know if it could. Hockey players are proud athletes. You want to have a decent rating.
BRADY TKACHUK: I’m probably one of the guys who will just play a game as the Sens to see where my rating is, to see how good my guy is. This version is exciting because it’s more individual-based. You can see within the game how I am in real life, and that’s really cool and unique.
These ratings are always fun. And, to be honest with you, I don’t know what rating will enter the game this year. I know they give a boost mid-year and that’s the goal: that, hopefully, I get a boost mid-year because that means I’m playing well.
Matthew, your name was recently included by the White House as part of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition, joining names like Wayne Gretzky and Mariano Rivera. How did you get involved in that?
MATTHEW TKACHUK: I can’t really comment on that until it’s official. So I have to wait a bit. But I promise that in a few weeks, if that comes to fruition, I’ll answer you.
Let’s talk about something that did come true: The Florida Panthers somehow held onto Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad, and Brad Marchand as free agents. How surprised were you that General Manager Bill Zito was able to pull it off?
MATTHEW TKACHUK: I don’t know if I was surprised. I think at that moment, as a player and, more importantly, as a friend, you’re more concerned that one of your friends is going somewhere else. At the end of the day, you want your teammates and your best friends to be happy with whatever decision they make. So, if that’s chasing a ton of money or if that’s going where they want to play, you just have to be happy for them.
The best thing about those three is that they all believe in what we are doing in Florida. They want to live in Florida, they want to play on a good team, and they want to have a great group of players around them.
Of all of them, I was the one who most trusted that Ekblad would stay. Simply because he has been a Florida Panther his whole life. I just think it was going to be impossible for him to leave. And then the other guys… I mean, this was an opportunity for them to get paid. You just didn’t know if it was going to be with us or not.
However, I was surprised that everyone could stay. I thought that, with the way the money was tied up, you didn’t know if it was going to be possible, and somehow it was. Everyone was taken care of very well.
Bill did a great job of making sure that could happen. You want your best friends to be rewarded for how well they played and how well they’ve been up to this point. I think everyone was rewarded very well, and I’m very excited to have the opportunity to, hopefully, run with them again this year.Title of the publication: “I trusted more that Ekblad would stay”, said Matthew Tkachuk about the defenseman. “Simply because he has been a Florida Panther for life.”
When did you find out about Marchand? Was it when he was smoking cigars in the back of a golf cart? At some point, were you convinced that the guy liked being there instead of leaving as a free agent?
MATTHEW TKACHUK: Marchand, when he was first traded, would have thought there would never be a chance we could keep everyone. With time and success, and getting to know the guys and knowing what their desires are with the rest of their careers, or where they want to live, you can start to connect the dots. People just don’t want to leave Florida when they come. I think that’s the case with them and with everyone who has been there.
The only time you’ll see guys leave is if there’s such a crazy difference with the money. Some of these guys we’ve had in recent years have really cashed in with other teams, which we’re very happy to see. I think that’s really the only way you’ll see guys go elsewhere.
We have something too good right now, and everyone wants to be a part of it.
Brady, your father poured cold water on all the speculation about your departure from Ottawa when we spoke recently. How much did making the playoffs, showing the Senators’ progress, give you a sense of relief that maybe some of that speculation could be put aside now?
BRADY TKACHUK: Yeah, I think we really needed to make the playoffs to show everyone that we’re a team capable of that, but also capable of doing more than just making the playoffs.
In the last two years, it was somewhat stagnant. We had high expectations and didn’t achieve what we needed. And with that came doubt. But I think it showed with the steps we took last year that we have a great hockey team. I think we’re starting with what we want to achieve. The playoffs are great to reach, but that’s not our final goal. The sky’s the limit for our group.
I think that success helped with all the speculation. When things aren’t going well, people always assume or try to think in my shoes. But I was never in that thought process. It was about persevering. It’s been a long time, not just for our team, but for the city, to reach the playoffs. And I think it was very important for me to end that drought.
Through all that adversity that we faced being the bottom five teams to finally make the playoffs was an incredible feeling. But now that we got there, I think everyone wants a little more and wants to achieve all of our childhood dreams.
Obviously, the season is approaching. Brady, we saw you training with Trevor Zegras this summer. What do you think about him having a fresh start in Philadelphia with the Flyers?
BRADY TKACHUK: Yeah, I drove to Connecticut and skated with him. I’ve known ‘Z’ over the years, but I got to know him pretty well when we played the world championships together. He’s a great guy, and I think it’ll be great for him to have a fresh start in Philadelphia and under Rick Tocchet. They have a great culture there, and I think he’ll do a good job fitting in.
I’ve always thought that playing against Philadelphia is that they play very hard, but they have a lot of great players with skill. So, I think that will be the best for him. I’m excited to see his progression this year and see how the change affects him. I bet that will be for the better.Title of the publication: The pick number 9 in the 2019 draft, Trevor Zegras, is having a fresh start with Philadelphia this season.
Matthew, you were dealing with some significant injuries at the end of last season and you said it was “50/50” regarding offseason surgery. What is your path for the coming months? Do you still hope to maybe get on the ice in October?
MATTHEW TKACHUK: I’m still hoping to get on the ice as soon as possible. If I have surgery, it will definitely be the first two, maybe three months [of the season] if that’s the case. But [it’s not yet decided].
Finally, the NHL and the NHLPA signed a new collective bargaining agreement. We haven’t heard from many players about this agreement. What did you like? What would you have liked to be included that wasn’t achieved?
BRADY TKACHUK: I think Marty [Walsh], Ron Hainsey, and the NHLPA did a really good job. A lot of this was done behind the scenes with the NHL. They kept it low-key.
I think it’s important that we’ve made a four-year agreement and navigate towards where our league is in four years. Obviously, there are things that will probably trend and want more in four years. But I think the changes they made are exciting. The 84-game schedule [means] more hockey for people to come and watch. I think it’s going to be good.
Less preseason garbage too.
MATTHEW TKACHUK: You took the words right out of my mouth.
That’s the main thing I like. I’ve never liked the preseason setup. I mean, the guys do a great job of getting into [camp] in shape. There are the captain’s skates before the preseason because everyone wants to come back and see the guys. So, I think the preseason has been overrated. It’s too long and the games are too many. However they could shorten that, I agreed with that for sure.
Just get into the season. Just keep going.
