Brady, selected No. 4 by Ottawa in the 2018 NHL Draft, has 463 points (213 goals, 250 assists) in 572 regular-season games and seven points (four goals, three assists) in 10 Stanley Cup Playoff games. He also brings snarl, like Matthew, to a lineup that already has plenty of it, as exemplified by Brady’s 821 career penalty minutes.
But there are so many layers to this move aside from just statistics, which is why the Panthers were willing to fork over so much draft capital in order to acquire the Senators captain.
Simply put: Brace yourself, South Florida, for a marketing assault featuring the Tkachuk brothers. Don’t be surprised if these two are on billboards, part of numerous ad campaigns, featured on various television and radio spots, appear at charity and fundraising functions … you name it.
Aleksander Barkov might be Florida’s captain and leader, but the Tkachuk brothers are about to become the faces of the franchise. In a sports-mad region that already features popular alternatives like the NBA’s Miami Heat, NFL’s Miami Dolphins, NCAA’s Miami Hurricanes and, to a lesser extent, MLB’s Miami Marlins, what better way to promote your two-time Stanley Cup champion organization than with the unique and intriguing package of hustle and muscle that is the personable Tkachuk brothers?
In essence, they’ll play a big role in keeping the Panthers relevant in the area’s saturated sporting landscape, both for their play and notoriety.
The 2025 4 Nations Face-Off and the subsequent 2026 Winter Olympics were examples of how popular Brady and Matthew, who grew up in St. Louis, have become in their native country.
Indeed, when they dropped the gloves in the opening moments of an epic 4 Nations preliminary-round game against Team Canada on Feb. 15, 2025 — Matthew versus Brandon Hagel, Brady against his now-Panthers teammate Sam Bennett — they fired up the patriotic adrenaline of U.S. hockey fans from coast to coast.
On the ice, well, there aren’t too many opponents around who are looking forward to dealing with the most in-your-face team in the League, featuring the Tkachuks, Bennett and the seemingly ageless Brad Marchand.
By no coincidence, all four of those players were original trade acquisitions made by the Panthers under Zito’s watch: Bennett (from the Calgary Flames on April 12, 2021), Matthew (from the Flames on July 22, 2022), Marchand (from the Boston Bruins on March 7, 2025), and now Brady Tkachuk. Defenseman Seth Jones (from the Chicago Blackhawks on March 1, 2025) was a key addition during Florida’s run to the Cup in 2025.
The moral of the story — when Zito and his staff see a player they want, they are aggressive and find a way to land him. Draft picks are as much trade assets as they are building blocks for the future.
The effectiveness of this brash philosophy speaks for itself, not only for Florida, but for other recent Cup recipients as well.