Chantal Tkachuk’s rule still stands.
And it remains pretty straight forward — there will be no fighting.
“Absolutely still in place,” Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk, the family’s eldest son, said of the not-so-subtle directive.
The Tkachuk brothers have played against each other plenty since Brady made his NHL debut in 2018.
There was that memorable first meeting where nearly 40 family members sported specially designed jerseys honouring the occasion.
The pair then met nine times during the NHL’s pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season when Matthew’s Calgary Flames and Brady’s Senators suited up in the one-and-done North Division necessitated by COVID-19 travel restrictions.
But with older brother now in younger brother’s Atlantic Division stomping ground with the Panthers following a summer trade from Calgary and subsequent contract extension — along with an Ottawa group looking to make a playoff push following a painful, protracted rebuild — the temperature of the sibling rivalry is set to be turned up.
“Really fun when we played against each other twice a year,” said Matthew Tkachuk, 24, who will face Brady and the Senators as true division foes for the first time Saturday when Florida hosts Ottawa.
“But now the games, they matter a lot. Before they didn’t matter as much.”
‘Definitely gonna be weird’
Brady Tkachuk agreed there will be an adjustment to the new dynamic.
“Definitely gonna be weird,” said the 23-year-old, who like his brother is signed long-term. “But we’re both excited for it. It’s not going to be all the spectacle that it used to be. There’s going to be some big divisional games, and we’re potentially going to play in the playoffs.
“Going to be stressful for the parents, especially my mom, but it’s exciting.”
St. Louis forward Robert Thomas lived with Keith, who played 18 NHL seasons, and Chantal Tkachuk during his first two professional campaigns.
Matthew and Brady were out of the house and in the league by then, but around during the spring of 2019 as the Blues marched to their first Stanley Cup.
“They love competing against each other,” Thomas said. “I don’t know what’s gonna happen there. I don’t know how Chantal is gonna manoeuvre that one.
Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone, who took Brady under his wing in Ottawa before getting traded, will also tune in when the Tkachuks…
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