Being a top NHL player, repping your team with pride, and waking up every day to chase greatness—it sounds like a dream gig, right? But the behind-the-scenes grind? That takes a serious toll on the heart and head. Back in April 2024, when Ottawa Senators fans were growing numb to hearing “tired of losing,” there was a shift. A real moment. Captain Brady Tkachuk stepped up to the mic—not with the usual clichés, but with a heart-wide-open confession that hit like a slapshot to the soul.
“Honestly, this is probably the most difficult year I’ve had, to date, mentally,” he said after his final season meeting with GM Steve Staios. For someone who usually found joy just lacing up skates, even he admitted, “There were some days that weren’t fun.” Tkachuk had played 6 seasons by then, and each year, he had had to book his flight back home in April itself. He hadn’t played in a single playoff game. But here’s the wild twist—what could’ve broken the locker room actually lit a fuse. And now, despite the Ottawa Senators’ recent loss, turns out Brady Tkachuk can finally put that mentally draining season behind him.
Spittin’ Chiclets jumped on X like it was go-time on April 8, dropping a post that got fans hyped to the moon and back: “PLAYOFF BRADY UNLOCKED” and “For the first time since 2017 the Ottawa Senators are heading to the playoffs.” Yeah, you read that right—after years of watching from the sidelines, Brady Tkachuk’s Sens are finally crashing the postseason party. Cue the confetti, the chaos, and that sweet sweet playoff buzz. Now let’s be real: that playoff ticket didn’t come wrapped in a bow.
On paper, Tuesday night in Columbus was supposed to be a cherry-on-top win—but instead, Brady Tkachuk’s Senators kinda stumbled through a rough 5–2 loss to the Blue Jackets. The energy was shaky, and only Fabian Zetterlund and Thomas Chabot managed to light the lamp. Goalie Anton Forsberg? Not his brightest night, either. And with the win streak snapped at three, the Sens had no choice but to cross their fingers and scoreboard-watch like the rest of us stress-scrollers. Jake Sanderson, perhaps was particularly stressed considering what he had said last year—“We’re going to do everything in our power, that we’re not packing up our games at this time of the year ever again.” Thankfully, the hockey gods (aka the Habs) came through in the clutch. Montreal took care of business with a 4–1 win over Detroit at the Bell Centre, and just like that, Ottawa’s playoff dream got real.
PLAYOFF BRADY UNLOCKED pic.twitter.com/OHfRBt2zk9
— Spittin’ Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) April 9, 2025
And you could feel it—the vibes, the fire, the pride—in Chabot’s words after the buzzer. Even after the L, he couldn’t hide the electricity: “You’re not going to see me smile a whole lot after a loss, but man it feels great,” he told TSN 1200’s Gord Wilson. “It definitely does. Everybody, the whole group from top-to-bottom, took a huge step this year.” The team that’s been fighting tooth and nail all season long? Yeah, they’re fired up and finally seeing it all pay off.
“Everybody did whatever they could every single night to get into the playoffs, and now that it’s confirmed, we’ve still got some games to play, but the whole group is fired up. We can’t wait to go at it.” So the drought’s over, the squad’s alive, and the playoffs just got a whole lot more fun. And guess what? While Brady Tkachuk might have been out due to injury for the past couple of games, he still entered the rink in a recent game as he aims to play in the playoffs!
Brady Tkachuk enters the rink before the playoffs!
Brady Tkachuk’s been in that awkward limbo lately. The whole saga kicked off in February during the 4 Nations Face-Off. Brady was doing his thing, charging the net hard against Sweden, when—bam! One sketchy edge, a wild crash into goalie Samuel Ersson, and suddenly the net’s flying, and so was his night. He gave it the ol’ warrior try—quick shifts, even a brave little skate during a commercial break—but by the time period two rolled around, his night was over.
Since then, it’s been a whole carousel of almost-there moments—off the ice, back on the bench, rinse, repeat. But just when it felt like he was fading into injury limbo, Brady Tkachuk dropped back in with something totally wholesome. No pads, no helmet, no stick—just pure good-guy energy. And plot twist? He wasn’t there to suit up—he was there to celebrate something way bigger than a shift.
On April 5, TSN’s Claire Hanna hit X with one of those sweet little rink-side gems: a video of Brady gliding across the ice—not in skates, but in regular ol’ shoes, lookin’ fly and chill. “Brady Tkachuk came onto the ice after the #Sens win to congratulate Carp product, linesperson Derek Nansen, who just worked his 1470th & final NHL game after a 23 year career. Smooth ice-shuffle moves from the Captain,” she wrote. And yep, Brady Tkachuk’s ice stroll was peak captain vibes. Now, with the Sens officially playoff-bound, don’t be surprised if he’s not just walking the ice next time—but rocking that jersey, all fired up for the real dance.
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