Ottawa Senators owner Michael Andlauer finally said publicly what plenty in the organization have been thinking since June, pointing at Brady Tkachuk‘s father and brother as the reason his captain forced his way out. Jeremy Roenick saw it differently.
Andlauer broke his silence in a conversation with Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic on Tuesday, as reported by The Hockey News, three months after Tkachuk was traded to the Florida Panthers for a package built around three first-round picks. Tkachuk had spent all eight of his NHL seasons in Ottawa and worn the C for five of them, and he has consistently said the request wasn’t about joining his brother.
Jeremy Roenick on Tkachuks
Andlauer doesn’t buy it, telling LeBrun that the pull of family was the deciding factor.
“Blood is thicker than water, and let’s just say that his father and his brother got in his kitchen,” Andlauer said, referring to incoming Hall of Fame inductee Keith Tkachuk and Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk. “Ultimately, the decision was made to go and play with his brother. It’s a decision that was out of our control to a certain degree. But you have to want to play for Ottawa. And right to the end, our fans were behind Brady, even after Team USA won gold.”
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Roenick responded in an Instagram comment, and he opened by running with Andlauer’s own metaphor.
“Yes and their dad is a world renown chef!!” Roenick wrote, before dropping the joke and defending all three of them. “Now they give fans an experience worth the money!!! When you’re that good and have influence like all 3 of them do you can dictate your future!! Well done Tkachuk’s!!!”
Brady Tkachuk’s words
Roenick knows something about players with the leverage to shape their own careers. He scored 513 goals across 20 NHL seasons with Chicago, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and San Jose, and was never shy about saying exactly what he thought while doing it.
For all the finger-pointing, Andlauer was careful not to tear down Tkachuk himself.
“In his eight years with the Ottawa Senators, and during his time as captain, he was an exemplary captain for us and leader and role model,” Andlauer said. “He cared about the community. He and his wife, Emma, did more than any other player. The Boys and Girls Club – he cared deeply. And the fans knew it.”
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