The Toronto Maple Leafs hosted the New Jersey Devils on Sunday night in the annual Hockey Hall of Fame Game, where the incoming class is presented to the crowd on the ice before puck drop. Keith Tkachuk was among them, a day before his induction.
Scotiabank Arena let him know what it thought of his family.
Some described the response as mixed. Others watching were blunter about it, and the jeers were loud enough to carry on the broadcast. Tkachuk’s own assessment afterwards was four words.
“Yeah, it was interesting,” he said.
Keith Tkachuk’s NHL career:
| Games | Goals | Points | Penalty minutes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,201 | 538 | 1,065 | 2,219 |
Why was Keith Tkachuk booed in Toronto?
Nothing he did in 18 seasons with Winnipeg, Phoenix, St. Louis and Atlanta explains it. His sons do. Matthew Tkachuk and Brady Tkachuk have become the two most divisive players in the sport north of the border, having beaten Canada in the Olympic gold medal game in Milan in February, with Matthew having twice knocked Edmonton out in the Stanley Cup Final and Brady having forced his way out of Ottawa in the summer to join his brother in Florida.
Keith hasn’t helped his own cause lately either. He told Chris Johnston of The Athletic last week that the Senators should let it go.
“Brady’s moved on, we’ve moved on, it’s time Ottawa moves on,” Tkachuk said.
Supporters took the opportunity.
“The amount of asshole you need to be to get booed at your own Hall of Fame induction,” one wrote.
“NHL’s first nepo dad,” said another, while a third offered: “Tkachuk and his sons are a disgrace to the game of hockey.”
Several were simply grateful. “Classic. Love that they booed him. Thanks Leafs fans.”
The irony is in the timing of his election. Keith Tkachuk was voted into the Hall less than 24 hours after Brady was traded from Ottawa to Florida, which is the move that turned his family name toxic in half of Canada in the first place.
He goes in on Monday alongside Patrice Bergeron, Carey Price, Pekka Rinne, Cindy Curley and Brian Burke, having scored 538 goals and taken 2,219 penalty minutes across 1,201 games, won the 1996 World Cup and taken Olympic silver with the United States in 2002.
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