For the second time since 2022, the Florida Panthers have made an enormous splash on the trade market by acquiring a member of the Tkachuk family. This time, the Panthers have landed Brady Tkachuk from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a slew of premium draft picks, according to Sportsnet and ESPN.
In exchange for Tkachuk, the Senators received two 2026 first-round picks (No. 9 and No. 25), a 2027 first-round pick and a 2030 second-round pick. Just hours before swinging this deal for Tkachuk, Florida acquired the No. 25 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft from the Seattle Kraken in a deal for winger Mackie Samoskevich.
Brady will be reunited with brother Matthew just months after the pair helped Team USA end its 46-year gold-medal drought, and that duo will try to help the Panthers rebound from a disappointing 2025-26 season that was derailed by countless injuries. In a way, that step back may have been a blessing in disguise for Florida because it resulted in the No. 9 overall pick, which was probably enough to push this deal across the line.
Like older brother Matthew, Brady was a top-10 draft pick, going to the Senators at No. 4 overall in 2018. Since making his debut that season, Tkachuk has established himself as one of the better power forwards in the NHL. In 572 career games, Tkachuk has 213 goals, 250 assists and 463 points.
Tkachuk still has two years left on his current contract at $8.2 million per season, and that is a great value for the Panthers considering how quickly the salary cap is rising. Florida’s top six is one of the deepest groups in the league now — if it wasn’t already — and the Tkachuk brothers on a line with Sam Bennett at center would be a nuisance for any defensive pairing in the league.
The Panthers still need to sort out their goaltending situation, but once again, general manager Bill Zito has moved aggressively to upgrade his roster on the trade market.
