Andlauer says the Tkachuk family 'got in his kitchen' before Brady left

Three months after the trade, Ottawa's owner finally said the quiet part out loud. Michael Andlauer told The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun that Brady Tkachuk's family had a hand in his exit: "Blood is thicker than water, and let's just say that his father and his brother got in his kitchen."

The Hockey News and Yahoo Sports both picked up the comments Tuesday afternoon. Andlauer added that the decision to go play with his brother was, in his words, out of Ottawa's control to a certain degree.

The backstory

Nobody in South Florida needs the recap, but here it is. Keith and Matthew Tkachuk spent chunks of last season on their Wingmen podcast questioning how Ottawa was using Brady. Matthew pointed out his brother got a bigger role with Team USA than he did with the Senators, per Yahoo's write-up.

Then Brady asked out after the season, with Florida as the one place he wanted to go. The Senators sent him south in June for the Nos. 9 and 25 picks in the 2026 draft, a conditional 2029 first and a 2027 second, per NHL.com. Ottawa flipped No. 9 to San Jose for William Eklund.

Brady had 59 points in 60 games last year and wore the C in Ottawa for five seasons. Two years remain on his deal at an $8.2 million cap hit.

Andlauer wasn't all sour

Credit where it's due. The owner also called Brady an exemplary captain, leader and role model over his eight years with the club, and said the fans stayed loyal to him the whole way. That's a classier exit line than most owners manage after a trade request.

Ferda take

Here's the thing about "his family got in his kitchen." Of course they did. Keith built two power forwards who play the same greasy, in-your-face game, and he wanted them in the same room. Matthew has two rings here. Brady spent eight years in Ottawa chasing his first.

So the family angle is real, but it's not the whole reason. The reason is the fit.

Ottawa got 59 points in 60 games out of Brady and still couldn't make him happy. Florida got him to Sunrise and he had a Gordie Howe hat trick in his first preseason game on Sunday. One of those teams knows exactly what to do with a player like that.

The Senators will be fine. Eklund is 23 and coming off 53 points. Giroux and Chabot can carry the room. But every time the Tkachuks line up on the same wall this year, some Ottawa fan is going to remember this quote.

What's next

Both brothers are in Raleigh tonight for the preseason rematch with Carolina, 7 p.m. ET. Ottawa, meanwhile, keeps auditioning first-line wingers next to Stutzle and Batherson. Andre Burakovsky is the latest, per NHL.com.