The Florida Panthers and the Ottawa Senators have agreed to make the Brady Tkachuk trade to the Florida Panthers in exchange for draft picks. He will join his brother, Matthew Tkachuk in Sunrise ahead of the 2026-2027 season. The Senators receive the 9th and 25th overall picks in the 2026 draft. As well as a first round pick in the 2029 draft, and a second-round pick in the 2030 draft.
Breaking: The Florida Panthers are trading for Brady Tkachuk, where he will play with his brother Matthew, sources tell @emilymkaplan.
The Senators will receive two first-round picks in the 2026 draft, as well as a future first and second-round pick. pic.twitter.com/OQ4dPdRorN
— ESPN (@espn) June 21, 2026
What Led to the Brady Tkachuk Trade
B. Tkachuk has two years left on his contract that pays him just over $8.2 million per year. He has spent his entire career in the Canadian Capital after being drafted fourth overall in 2018. B. Tkachuk has played 572 career regular season games in Ottawa, and piling up 463 career points to go with it.
Likely this came down to B. Tkachuk telling Senators management that he wanted to play in Florida with his brother. It’s not hard to see why. The Panthers had a lackluster year with key players missing time with injuries. However, they won back to back Stanley Cups in 2024 and 2025. The Senators with B. Tkachuk as captain have made the playoffs the past two seasons, but didn’t make it out of the first round each time.
Credit Image: © Alex Cave/ZUMA Press Wire)
What the Brady Tkachuk Trade Means for Ottawa
Ottawa had finally started to build something with B. Tkachuk at the helm. They finally broke back into the postseason in 2025. And returned there in 2026 with 44 wins and 99 total points. It’s unclear whether B. Tkachuk forced his way out to Florida, or if management decided to pull the trigger when they realized they weren’t going to be able to resign him next offseason.
The compensation does not fit the track record of a team with Ottawa’s success. Teams that are building into cup contention don’t trade their star players for draft picks. It’s still early in the summer, but getting no players back in the deal likely signs Ottawa will take a step back this season. Will it trigger a full on rebuild in Ottawa? That’s the big question for Ottawa to answer this offseason.
Main photo by: Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images
