Florida Panthers reportedly close to acquiring Brady Tkachuk

The Florida Panthers on Sunday were reportedly close to acquiring Brady Tkachuk from the Ottawa Senators, a deal that if completed will unite star winger Matthew Tkachuk with his brother and bring yet another star hockey player to South Florida. According to the Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Panthers are sending four draft picks — including three first-round selections (the Nos. 9 and 25 picks this year and a first-rounder in 2029) plus a second-round pick in 2030 — to Ottawa to complete the deal. Florida acquired one of those picks earlier Sunday when they sent forward Mackie Samoskevich to the Seattle Kraken. The Athletic’s Pierre Lebrun first reported the trade. Brady Tkachuk, who turns 27 in September, has two years left on a deal that has an annual cap hit of just over $8.2 million. Florida entered the day with just over $15.2 million in cap space, according to PuckPedia, while still needing to sign at least two goaltenders with Sergei Bobrovsky and Daniil Tarasov set to enter free agency. He has spent his entire NHL career with Ottawa to this point, producing 463 points (213 goals, 250 assists) over 572 games in eight seasons. Brady and Matthew Tkachuk played together internationally each of the past two years for the United States, first winning silver in the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off tournament in 2025 and then winning gold at the Winter Olympics in February. Now, they’re close to being together with the goal of bringing the Stanley Cup back to South Florida. Matthew Tkachuk, who has been a franchise-altering player since Florida acquired him in July 2022, has already won twice with the Panthers. This story will be updated.