Brady Tkachuk isn’t having the best welcome back from injury. He had been resting himself for the playoffs, but the playoffs haven’t really been giving him a rest. What was meant to be a triumphant debut after 7 years in the league turned into… Tkachuk and the Ottawa Senators losing to the Toronto Maple Leafs, in a 6-2 blowout, owing to a number of penalties that the Senators seemed to give away like it was nothing; the Leafs pounced, scoring 3 goals on the powerplay. And as if intense self reflection following a loss isn’t painful enough, there were added jabs in the fact that game 1 was in the Scotiabank Arena filled with a bunch of Leafs fans who chanted throughout the game, “Brady Sucks!”

While Tkachuk has made his feelings clear on the blatant disrespect thrown at him saying, “I guess I expected it. Couldn’t care less. I don’t really give a [expletive], to be honest. That’s not going to affect me,” his teammate Claude Giroux had a different and refreshing take on the whole thing.

When asked about the incident and specifically whether the jeers would fire Brady up, Giroux replied, “No, I mean, in my eyes it’s a compliment for Brady. They don’t do that if you actually suck, so. So, I mean it’s a compliment; I’ve got booed at Pittsburgh before and to be honest, it’s the best games to play.” So, I guess now we can only hope that when the Senators play their first home game of the series on Tuesday, they are received with as much if not more…loathing?

But maybe Brady Tkachuk really couldn’t care less, he has, after all, had a colourful history with disgruntled fans.

Brady Tkachuk’s history with hecklers: he doesn’t love it

Let’s face it, the very act of being on the ice, in a game where throwing punches isn’t particularly shunned is bound to put you up for some public scrutiny, one way or another. To add to that, Brady Tkachuk has the added burden of being younger brother to star player Matthew Tkachuk, who has demonstrated a lot more restraint and tactical playing (and press conferencing), in recent years. So of course, the fans have material to work with, and they know it gets to Brady, despite Giroux’s take on things.

In a 2023 home game between the Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning, the Senators who ended up losing 6-4 were booed off the ice, with fans even calling for the termination of the coach DJ Smith, with “Fire D.J.” echoing through the Canadian Tire Centre. Brady commented on the incident at the time saying, “It’s frustrating the negativity from the outside. The constant booing and the bullshit kind of from the crowd tonight was frustrating, too.” Seeming definitely not un-phased by it!

There was also that time at the Four Nations Face Off earlier this year when the Canadien fans started booing the American National anthem, this caused visible anger on Tkachuk’s face, and he and the U.S. team started up a few fights before the game could even get going just to send a message back.

So, unless Brady Tkachuk has undergone a change of opinion in the time it has taken him to get back on the ice after his injury or Claude Giroux’s words really did strike a chord with him, it doesn’t look like he’s going to be indifferent to the jeers. We can, however, hope, for his sake, that he he doesn’t let them affect the number of penalty minutes he gives away on Tuesday. Boos or not, the Senators cannot afford to lose this one.