Tkachuk childishly refuses to pass his stick to his defenseman after his snaps in half in the d-zone

Matthew Tkachuk is certainly a polarizing figure around the NHL. Emerging as one of the league's MVP's (most valuable pests), there seems like nothing that Tkachuk wouldn't do in order to get under the skin of the opposition. That said, Tkachuk still has some growing up to do, especially in terms of putting the team first.

In a sequence on Friday's 4-3 win over the always dangerous Toronto Maple Leafs, Tkachuk was on the ice, defending a push by the Leafs in the defensive zone when his teammate Nikita Nesterov's stick snapped in half, leaving the defender vulnerable, but within reach of Tkachuk. What unfolded next is pretty embarrassing, as you can see in the video below.

Imagine being a forward, standing up high, not really covering anyone, and noticing that your defenseman has no stick in front of your net and not passing yours off to him to avoid a potential goal against.. if Toronto scores on that play, we likely have a very different outcome last night, but because the Leafs didn't score there, the whole thing is essentially brushed under the rug.

Maybe Tkachuk is partial to his sticks and didn't want to share.. maybe (unlikely) he didn't see Nesterov reaching for his stick on several occasions.. whatever the reason, Tkachuk has to know better - especially during the second half when points in the standings are so valuable.

That was an embarrassing sequence to be a part of if your name is Matthew Tkachuk. It's highly likely that coach Darryl Sutter had something to say about it to Tkachuk postgame.

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