Tkachuk says Senators winning Cup 'isn't really a pipe dream anymore'

OTTAWA -- Expectations are changing for Brady Tkachuk.

The Ottawa Senators captain, fresh off a six-game defeat at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Eastern Conference First Round, hasn’t had enough time to properly reflect on the 2024-25 season yet, but dreaming of what next season holds for his budding group is easy.

“The disappointment comes from knowing that, where we’re at and where we’re going to get to, our end goal is something that isn’t really a pipe dream anymore,” Tkachuk said Saturday, when the Senators gathered for the last time this season before cleaning out their lockers. “We’re going to continue to get better. … It’s all about just growing as players, growing as a group and knowing that we want to win the Stanley Cup. Just getting into the playoffs isn’t good enough anymore.”

For the first time in eight years, Ottawa qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, as the first wild card into the postseason from the East (45-30-7, 97 points). Along with 11 of his teammates and a new generation of local fans, it was the first playoff experience for Tkachuk, who the Senators selected with the No. 4 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft.

“The energy, the excitement, the atmosphere,” Tkachuk said, “this is the only way I can kind of describe it; it’s almost addicting to be able to play in front of that. It was truly the best atmosphere I’ve ever played in. It was so special. And all the credit goes to the fans, this community in just how special it was.

"Every morning, I couldn’t tell you how excited I was just to step on the ice, those rally towels, that just fire and excitement that the fans had. I’d been waiting for a long eight years to share that with them.”

Viewed as a big-game player who thrives in the spotlight, Tkachuk lived up to that billing in the fifth playoff edition of the Battle of Ontario and led Ottawa with seven points (four goals, three assists) in the series.

After a 4-3 overtime win in Game 4 to stave off elimination, Tkachuk repeatedly shouted, “We’ll be back!” during a postgame celebratory twirl in front of a jubilant home crowd. And he kept his promise, with a goal and two assists in a 4-0 win in Game 5 in Toronto to help drag the Maple Leafs back to the nation’s capital for one more.

“He leads by example,” Ottawa forward Dylan Cozens said, “whether it’s throwing a big hit or fighting someone or scoring a goal, he does it all. To have that guy leading your team, it’s exactly what you want. To follow him into battle every night, it’s awesome. You never liked playing against him, but I always had a lot of respect for him and his game, so now that I get to play alongside him, it’s awesome.”

Tkachuk’s contributions against Toronto were timely. In a third straight win-or-go home situation in Game 6 on Thursday, he tipped a point shot by defenseman Thomas Chabot to cut the Maple Leafs' lead to 2-1 at 7:28 of the second period.

“He’s a heck of a leader,” Senators defenseman Travis Hamonic said. “He’s obviously a heck of a hockey player, he’s extremely passionate. He’s someone that’s not necessarily dragging you into the fight, but dragging you into the fight. Like, he wears it on his sleeve every night, and whether it’s a big goal, whether it’s stepping up physically with a fight, as you see him do, I mean, he’s a unique player in the League in that sense.

"I don’t really know if there’s too many like him. All the while having to wear the ‘C’ in a Canadian market; it’s never the easiest thing.”

Though dominant, Tkachuk was not fully healthy in the playoffs. A hip injury sustained at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February had lingered for months; even eight games off in the three weeks leading up to the postseason wasn’t enough to fix the problem. Now, his offseason will focus heavily on recovery, rehab and strengthening, and he will not play for the United States at the IIHF World Championship May 9-25.

“I was just battling through a couple of things,” he said, “but I don’t think injuries are an opportunity to be an excuse because everybody’s got something going on. Now it’s just time to take care of it, deal with it and make sure I’m 100 percent come next year.”

In past years, when Ottawa's season would end immediately after the regular season, Tkachuk would follow the Cup quest of his older brother, Matthew Tkachuk. For several of Matthew's runs, the younger Tkachuk was regularly featured on TV broadcasts, often shown celebrating in the stands and sometimes donning his brother’s team’s colors.

But things change.

“To be honest with you, I’ll be watching from afar,” the younger Tkachuk said. “It’s definitely different this year, especially with last year when he got to win the Stanley Cup and me being along for that. … He knows that I’ve always been there every step of the way for him. It’s just different this year."

An enormous weight was lifted from the shoulders of a young Senators core this spring when it finally took the next step and brought postseason hockey back to Ottawa. Come October, there will be a new burden to carry.

It's not just about getting past Game 82 anymore.

“It’s going to be a long summer," Tkachuk said, "but I know that we’re going to come with so much fire for next year, and that it’s truly going to be a special year next year and special years down the road.”