Keith Tkachuk caps emotional weekend with 'overwhelming' call to Hall of Fame

Keith Tkachuk said he was shocked to receive the call from the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday. You could hear it in his voice when he spoke to Mike Gartner, chairman of the Hall, and Ron Francis, chair of the selection committee.

“Oh my gosh,” Tkachuk said in a recording that aired on TSN Monday. “Guys, I don’t know what to say. I appreciate that. That’s incredible. It’s been a whirlwind the last few days, I don’t know if you guys know that.”

Tkachuk was referring to the other shocking news involving his family, of course. Younger son Brady was traded to the Florida Panthers from the Ottawa Senators on Sunday, joining his older son Matthew, which marks the first time the brothers will play on the same NHL team.

“They’re best friends,” he said in a video conference with the media. “They wanted to do this together, and fortunately, it worked out. Both parties found a way to get it done.”

Tkachuk had 1,065 points (538 goals, 527 assists) in 1,201 games for the Winnipeg Jets, Phoenix Coyotes, St. Louis Blues and Atlanta Thrashers from 1991-2010.

Among players born in the United States, he ranks second in goals in NHL history behind Mike Modano (561). He’s sixth in points behind Patrick Kane (1,400), Modano (1,374), Phil Housley (1,232), Jeremy Roenick (1,216) and Joe Pavelski (1,068).

The power forward also had 2,219 penalty minutes.

“He was a nasty player,” Francis told TSN. “… You kind of tried to tread lightly around him to get your job done. But he had the complete package of the physicality and the goal-scoring ability.”

Tkachuk represented the United States in four Winter Olympic Games and two World Cups of Hockey. He had six points (five goals, one assist) in seven games in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, the last best-on-best tournament the Americans won before Brady and Matthew helped Team USA win Olympic gold in Milan in February.

“You don’t go into your career thinking you’re going to be a Hall of Famer,” he said. “You don’t play for that. But as you get older, when you get that call, it was truly the biggest honor I could have, and I’m thrilled.

“I don’t know how I’m going to react in November. It’s going to be overwhelming. But we’re doing this for our families who have sacrificed everything for us, so I’m looking forward to spending that time with my family, my grandkids, my wife, Chantal, who has sacrificed a ton for me, and I’m looking forward to going in representing all the teams that I played for, especially the St. Louis Blues. I’ve been here for a long time, so I’m looking forward to that.”

Tkachuk is now the Blues’ director of recruitment and lives in St. Louis. The family gathered there over the weekend to celebrate a baptism and the Olympic gold medal.

The 54-year-old missed a few phone calls from the Hall of Fame. When he finally answered, he went outside to talk. Then he came back into the house and needed to regain his composure.

“I actually didn’t tell my family for about 45 minutes,” he said.

Tkachuk asked some family members if they wanted to have a beer together, including Brady. (Matthew was at a golf tournament.)

“I told them and broke the news to them there,” he said. “I just couldn’t believe it. I was emotional, and I knew if I went in and told my family right away, I just wouldn’t be able to handle it. So, it was a thrill to get that call.

“It’s been a great weekend for the Tkachuks.”

Tkachuk said it was especially great to see his mother’s reaction. He called his parents “blue-collar people from Boston who lived paycheck to paycheck and did everything they could so I was able to live my dream.”

“It’s been a crazy weekend,” he said, “but this tops it off.”