The 4 Nations Finals was an eventful and action-packed tournament, culminating in Canada defeating the United States 3-2 in overtime to claim the championship. While the likes of Nathan MacKinnon and Zach Werenski delivered standout performances for their respective teams, with Werenski leading the tournament in scoring through three games, it was Brady Tkachuk who grabbed attention with his physical play and early-game fight.

Ahead of the U.S.-Canada matchup, Tkachuk, along with his brother Matthew Tkachuk and J.T. Miller, discussed instigating early-game fights in a group chat, which later became a topic of conversation in hockey circles.

During an appearance on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast, Brady Tkachuk explained: “Matthew and I were talking, like, if we have this opportunity, that like how sick would it be to like do something like this was months ago, like if we’re both on the same team like in Montreal, like, how sick would that be so that kind of just like we’re joking around about it and then the start of the tournament obviously we got to know MSY and he was uh no awesome guy and uh we just kind of joke around like oh we got to do something nuts.”

Eventually, the off-field face-off did its trick initially for Tkachuk as the United States defeated Canada, albeit in the round-robin game. However, Canada took the revenge and defeated America 3-2 in the final. After the group chats leaked in the media, Canadian winger Brandon Hagel, who had a steamy encounter with Tkachuk in the opening face-off, defended his team and revealed, “I think we’re out there playing for the flag, not the cameras. That’s a part of Canada that we have in there. We don’t need to initiate anything. We don’t have any group chats going on.”

Even as Hagel admitted that their team doesn’t have group chats, Brady Tkachuk’s brother, Matthew, had a rather hilarious response to Hagel’s admission. The American forward hit back at his opponent with a candid remark.

Brady Tkachuk’s brother, Matthew, gets honest about playing for the flag

Amid Hagel’s remarks that indicated that their focus was on the game and not on the group chats, Matthew Tkachuk made a firm revelation about enjoying the game while representing the country. Ahead of their face-off in the 4 Nations Finals last week, Tkachuk took a cheeky dig at his opponent.

He said, “Well, I mean maybe their team doesn’t like each other if they don’t have group chats. That’s just a player enjoying his opportunity. Our team does not care about anything that they say. There’s been a lot of chatter and talk from individuals, but we care about one thing in this room. We have millions of people that are watching us and supporting us around this country, and we’re very prideful in playing for them. So it’s an opportunity of a lifetime for us.”

After the 4 Nations Finals, both Brady Tkachuk and Matthew Tkachuk are recovering from their injuries. While Brady participated in one line rush during Tuesday’s practice, he left afterward, leaving his availability for Wednesday uncertain. On the other hand, Panthers coach Paul Maurice has confirmed that Matthew will return, stating, ‘He’ll play,’ dismissing fears of a long-term injury.