Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk is no stranger to mixing it up on the ice.
The 26-year-old winger has eclipsed 100 penalty minutes in each of the past four seasons and in five of his past six.
Following the season-ending knee injury sustained by Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews at the hands of Anaheim Ducks defenceman Radko Gudas last week, Tkachuk lamented the team’s lack of on-ice response to the hit.
“If your captain gets taken out like that, you’ve got to have a way better response, personally.” Tkachuk said on his ‘Wingmen’ podcast. “I know how I’d feel if I got hit like that and nobody really jumped in there. I’d be pretty pissed. It’s unfortunate.
“If you go after our best players, we’re going after your best player.”
Several of the Maple Leafs on the ice at the time of the hit – Morgan Rielly, William Nylander, Easton Cowan and Brandon Carlo – have come under fire for not physically responding with Matthews down on the ice.
Both Nylander and Rielly have taken responsibility for not jumping in, saying they did not fully grasp the severity of the situation at the time.
“It’s on me for not responding earlier to Gudas,” Rielly said. “I didn’t understand how bad he got him … but I take full responsibility for not being the first one in there or being in there quicker.”
“Should have probably gone in there,” Nylander said “But in the situation at the time, I didn’t really understand until, like, 15 seconds later there was more than what I thought it was.”
The Senators and Maple Leafs will face off on Saturday as Ottawa continues to chase a playoff spot with one month remaining in the regular season. The Sens are 6-1-2 since the Olympic break and sit four points back of the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, held by the Boston Bruins.
Tkachuk said he has a lot of respect for Matthews, who captained Team USA to gold at Milano Cortina 2026, and says it was a missed opportunity for the Leafs to show unity in what has been a tough season.
“He’s been their guy for the last bunch of years. Gives it everything he has and keeps getting better,” said Tkachuk. “I’ve been in that position before. Pissed off you’re [not in a playoff spot]. You already have that like natural anger. You want to go take it out. That was a perfect opportunity to stand up for your captain and just didn’t see it.”
The Senators have three games coming up this week, all against Eastern Conference rivals, starting with the Washington Capitals on Wednesday, followed by the New York Islanders and Leafs on Thursday and Saturday.
Ottawa has 16 games remaining in the regular season, with all but one against Eastern Conference opponents. The lone exception is an April 4 game against Quinn Hughes and the Minnesota Wild.
The Maple Leafs (29-27-12) have 14 games remaining in the season, starting with the New York Islanders on Tuesday night and a back-to-back beginning Friday night against the Carolina Hurricanes and Ottawa Senators.
Viewers in the Leafs region can watch them take on the Islanders LIVE Tuesday night at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on TSN4, the TSN App, and TSN.ca.
