It’s good to be a Tkachuk these days.
Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk, along with his brother Matthew, were just named as two of the six players for the Team USA preliminary roster for the Olympics. Brady and the Senators finally snapped an eight-year playoff drought, and then he joined his brother, Matthew, as he celebrated his second straight Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers last week.
Now it's summer, and time to kick back and just be young guys in their 20s (who happen to multi-millionaires).
Their father, Keith Tkachuk, also did pretty well for himself in hockey, playing 18 years in the league. He’s still enjoying the game these days, not quite so involved anymore, happily cheering on his boys and savouring their NHL successes. He was down at ice level for another Cup celebration in Sunrise last week, hugging it up with the family and posing for photos.
But we were reminded of Keith's excellence as a player last year when he was named to the St. Louis Blues Hall of Fame, alongside the late Pavol Demitra, a former Senator, and goalie Mike Liut, as part of the 2024 class.
With all that family hockey success, it’s becoming harder to ignore the one glaring omission from the family’s legacy: Keith Tkachuk still isn’t in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Will he get the call on Tuesday?
Lanny McDonald, the chair of the Hockey Hall of Fame board, and Ron Francis, the chair of the Selection Committee, will reveal the Class of 2025 at 3 pm on Tuesday afternoon (June 24).
Keith finished his NHL career with 538 goals, the second most of any eligible player not currently in the Hall (Patrick Marleau has the most at 566). That number places him among the top 35 goal scorers in league history, ahead of multiple Hall of Famers. He was a five-time NHL All-Star, captained the Winnipeg Jets/Phoenix Coyotesen seasons, and became only the fourth American-born player to hit the 500-goal mark.
500 goals is one of those incredible individual milestones that should, with very few exceptions, make you an automatic member of the Hall of Fame. After Jeremy Roenick went in last year, Tkachuk, Marleau, Pat Verbeek, and Peter Bondra are the only members of the 500 club on the outside looking in.
Last season, the Blues inducted him into their Hall of Fame, a nod to the nine seasons he spent in St. Louis, mentoring young players and providing the same kind of leadership his sons now bring to their own clubs. Just like dad, Brady is hard-nosed, emotional, skilled, and (insert expletive here) impossible to play against.
While Brady and Matthew continue to thrive, probably bound for the Hall themselves in 15 years or so, the elder Tkachuk remains on the outside when it comes to hockey’s ultimate individual honour.
It’s about time that changed.
Steve Warne
The Hockey News Ottawa
Banner image credit: Scott Rovak-Imagn Images
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