Brady Tkachuk didn't wait for puck drop in Ottawa tonight. The Panthers forward fired back at Senators owner Michael Andlauer first.
Andlauer's recent comments put Tkachuk's family at the center of his decision to leave Ottawa for Florida.
The response landed Wednesday afternoon, and it was short. “I'm a big boy.”
The 27-year-old insisted the call was his and nobody else's, family included.
Andlauer stepped in it here. An owner explaining a departed player's choice through his family is like an ex calling your mom to explain why you really left.
And the timing couldn't be clumsier. Tonight is the first meeting of the season between these two clubs, and both sit at 12 points in the division.
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Ottawa gets Tkachuk at his hottest, and without Thomas Chabot
Florida rolls in on a three-game win streak after hammering Seattle 8-3 on Saturday.
Tkachuk didn't register a single point through the first four games of the season. Then the switch flipped.
He has 6 goals and 10 points over his last five games.
Two of those goals came on the power play. He's a +4 in that span, too.
Does that look like a guy carrying baggage into this building? Not even a little.
Florida needs every bit of that heat. Aleksander Barkov is on IR with a lower-body injury and isn't expected back until at least Nov. 27.
Brad Marchand is on IR as well, with a leg injury expected to keep him out until at least Nov. 21.
The crease is thin, too. Jacob Markstrom is on IR, and the fallback is Akira Schmid with an .878 save percentage through 4 appearances.
Ottawa has the edge in net on paper. Linus Ullmark owns a .945 save percentage over 7 games.
The Senators will play without Thomas Chabot, though. The blueliner has an upper-body injury and is expected out until at least Oct. 27.
Tim Stutzle leads Ottawa with 12 points. He'll have to push the pace against a Florida group that has already scored 30 goals.
The Senators also need a reset after a 3-1 loss in Philadelphia on Saturday.
Paul Maurice's group doesn't get much time to soak in whatever happens tonight. The Panthers visit Pittsburgh on Thursday, the back half of a back-to-back.
Tkachuk carries an $8,208,714 cap hit in Florida. Every shift tonight gets measured against what Ottawa no longer has.
Andlauer said his piece, and Tkachuk said his. The building gets its turn tonight, and it's hard to picture Ottawa letting this one go quietly.
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Was Michael Andlauer out of line bringing Brady Tkachuk's family into his exit from Ottawa?
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