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NHL Notebook: Senators fans ruthless and creative in Brady Tkachuk’s return to Ottawa
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Photo credit: Marc DesRosiers-Imagn
Tyson Cole
Oct 22, 2026, 16:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 22, 2026, 15:28 EDT
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Welcome back to NHL Notebook — the series here at CanucksArmy where we deliver you news and notes from around the National Hockey League — oftentimes through a Vancouver Canucks-tinted lens!
Wednesdays aren’t typically prime nights for the National Hockey League, but one game last night was the talking point in the world of sports, even on the second day of the new NBA season: Brady Tkachuk’s return to Ottawa.
And it wasn’t because Brady had this stellar game; it was the Senators fans who absolutely stole the show.

Senators fans let Tkachuk hear it

To give a bit of a backstory, Brady was drafted by the Senators fourth overall in the 2018 NHL Draft, and he made an immediate impact on the NHL lineup in his rookie season. He began to grow into a leadership role, sporting an ‘A’ on his sweater for the 2020-21 season before being named Captain the following season.
He served as the Senators’ Captain for the last five seasons. However, things started to shift after capturing Gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Fans grew frustrated with Brady’s on-ice play in the playoffs after going pointless in a four-game sweep by the Carolina Hurricanes, as well as off-ice issues with his podcast (Wingmen) and the extra media tour after the USA Olympic Gold.
Shortly after the elimination, Brady told Senators management he wouldn’t re-sign in Ottawa when his contract expires in two years and asked for a trade. With a full no-movement clause, Brady did the Senators no favours. A report said he gave the Senators a list of just three teams, but some are convinced he was only willing to waive for Florida to unite with his brother, Matthew. Regardless of what options Brady gave the Senators, they shipped him South to Florida over the offseason.
This left a sour taste in Senators fans. They felt cheated. Their Captain of five seasons left right as they were entering their contention window, after making the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time in a decade.
Senators fans built up months of anger, and they were finally able to let it all out when Brady returned to Ottawa on Wednesday night.
They came ready and prepped with modified Brady Tkachuk jerseys:
Made posters of him and his brother:
And wore Halloween masks to make fun of him:
Once he hit the ice pre-game, Senators voiced their displeasure with their former Captain early and often, chanting “Brady sucks” before the opening national anthems:
They were relentless all night, but his first shift on the ice was met with constant boos from Senators fans. That was, of course, until Senators defenceman Artem Zub got tangled up with Brady and sent him to the ice. Then we got a big cheer from the crowd:
Despite all of the noise raining down on him, Brady got his little bit of payback with a power play goal halfway through the first period, celebrating with a beaming smile at the numerous posters in his face and ending with a casual shrug.
Shortly after, Senators fans got their touch of vindication when Jake Sanderson found Tim Stützle in the slot with an open net on the power play to tie the game. A fitting moment considering Sanderson and Stützle formed the Senators’ core with Brady, but now with him gone, it’s their team.
Throughout the game, Senators fans flashed their creativity in how they went about chirping Brady, coming up with 14 different chants throughout the night:
We won’t bore you with each clip, but here is a compilation of some of the loudest:
Speaking of loud, one of the funniest things about last night’s game was when former Senator Lars Eller, who played a whopping 67 games in Ottawa last season, got a massive cheer and a standing ovation from the crowd when given his small tribute:
Kudos to the Amazon broadcast for capturing the entire atmosphere in the building. The broadcast captured chants around the rink throughout the entire game, making the home viewer feel part of the crowd.
If we’re giving kudos to the broadcast, we also have to give props to Brady. He played the villain role perfectly.
When the organization played his tribute video, Brady took a victory lap with a big smile on his face and his stick in the air, which was met with roaring boos.
He got into multiple physical altercations with his former teammates after the whistle. It seems there’s no love left between the current Senators and their former Captain. Brady got into rough stuff with Dylan Cozens and Nick Cousins, and had his night end early after getting into it with Ridly Greig at the end of the game.
Postgame, Brady was asked if he was expecting the crowd to be as ruthless as they were. Playing into the villain role, Brady responded, “Were they ruthless?”
It may not have been the homecoming Brady envisioned after spending the first eight years of his NHL career in Ottawa, but it was a great night in the hockey world. The crowd engagement was constant; the physicality was elevated, and the Senators got the last laugh with a 5-1 win. Let’s hope these two teams meet in the playoffs, because this game was as close to playoff hockey as you’ll see in October.
To put our Canucks-tinted glasses on, with this response from the Senators fans, what’s going to happen on Sunday when Quinn Hughes makes his return to Vancouver?
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