Power Ranking The Best Chants From Ottawa In The Most Hate-Filled Hockey Game Ever As Senators Fans Welcomed Back Brady Tkachuk
Chris Tanouye/Freestyle Photo. Getty Images.Breakups are a part of life. Sometimes you're lucky and a breakup ends relatively amicably. Both sides can appreciate the journey they had together for so long, but they knew it was time for them to both go their separate ways. They can still remain cordial even after the breakup.
But a lot of times, the breakup ends with pain and hatred and jealousy and resentment. It becomes an emotional catastrophe when one side of the breakup feels as if they've been completely blindsided. They begin to lash out because they need some sort of release. Maybe they slash your tires, maybe they go around spreading nasty rumors about you, or maybe they fill the arena with non-stop chants about how much they hate you when you make your first return to Ottawa after getting traded to Florida during the summer. Because that's exactly how Senators fans handled their breakup with Brady Tkachuk last night at Canadian Tire Centre.
It was an awesome start to the night for Brady Tkachuk in his return to Ottawa. There's nothing better than feeling like you've won the breakup, and that's how the night got going for him.
He had the whole arena booing the balls off of him during his tribute video, went out on the ice with the biggest shit-eating grin waving to the crowd like Miss America, and then went out and buried the first goal of the game. Things were going great for Brady, and the Senators fans looked like nothing more than a bunch of jealous, scorned losers. But then the fellas on the ice started taking care of business, and the night got away from Brady Tkachuk and the Panthers.
Stutzle got on the board, and then Claude Giroux made sure to give the Senators a lead they'd never give up for the rest of the night.
Advertisement
The Senators ended up laying a nice little 5-1 smackdown against the Panthers, and the fans in Ottawa were making sure they were kicking Brady Tkachuk harder and harder as he was down. Credit to Sens fans because it seems like they had a plan going into this night, and they executed flawlessly. Everybody on the same page, plenty of different chants to make sure that nothing got stale as the game kept going, it was a masterclass.
Obviously some of these were intended to sting harder than others, so let's break it down.
10. "Traitor"
At the end of the day, this one really means nothing. Brady is an American hero. Maybe he'd feel some guilt or remorse if he turned his back on his country or his family. But he's not going to give a shit if a bunch of bozos in the Canadian capital, even if he spent a quarter of his life there.
9. "Who's your daddy"
Advertisement
Not exactly original, and it's only been one game so far. Now if this turns out to be a thing where Ottawa is consistently beating the Panthers, then maybe this chant could carry some weight. But for the time being, I don't think that one regular season win in October constitutes as Ottawa being Brady's "daddy".
8. "You're a sellout"
Just technically not true. For starters, he's still on a contract that he signed with Ottawa back in 2021. So it's not like he took money to go play in Florida. Also, it's not like he signed in Florida as a free agent. He was traded there. Ottawa's management still had to facilitate this move. So just from a technical standpoint, Brady Tkachuk is not a sellout. Clearly the idea here is that Brady Tkachuk wanted to take an easier path to winning a Cup than trying to make it happen in Ottawa. But it just seems like they didn't think this one through.
7. "We don't need you"
The Ottawa Senators have not won a playoff series since 2017. They missed the playoffs for 7 straight years, and then have been bounced out of the first round in back-to-back years. Last year they got swept by Carolina, so they've only won a total of 2 playoff games in those 9 years. Maybe Brady Tkachuk wasn't the savior in Ottawa, but I'd argue they still need all the help they can get.
6. "Matthew's bridesmaid" // "Little brother"
Okay so here's where we start to get to the chants that probably made Brady at least stop and think a little bit. I'm sure he knows at this point in his career that Matthew has had the better career. Multiple Cups, a couple of 100+ point seasons, just overall a bigger star in the NHL. I'm sure Brady loves his older brother and looks up to him constantly, but I'm also sure there has always been a part of Brady that has wanted to be better. It's only natural. But at the same time, Matthew Tkachuk is out on the ice. And this is exactly what he wants to hear from Ottawa fans. They're basically hyping up Matthew at the expense of Brady. So at best, this one cancels itself out.
5. "Brady sucks"
Advertisement
It's a classic for a reason. This one was LOUD, and this one was clear. This is 17,000 human beings all in total agreement and united on the stance that you, Brady Tkachuk, suck. Maybe it's a little cliche, but Ottawa fans still managed to leave their mark with this one.
4. "You eat crayons" // "You can't read"
Chris Tanouye/Freestyle Photo. Getty Images.I mean what is Brady even supposed to do here? How does he refute these claims? At least when the fans are chanting "Brady sucks", he can go out there and score a goal to prove that they're wrong. But is he supposed to just sit on the bench and read a book out loud between shifts? Flip through some pages of Green Eggs and Ham while the Panthers are on the penalty kill? Show them a sample of his poop that doesn't have any remnants of a 64-pack of Crayola in there? Honestly, it's one of the best running jokes in hockey that Brady can't read and I'm just glad that Sens fans made it a focal point last night.
3. "Timmy's better"
Advertisement
This is obviously along the same lines as the chants about Matthew, but this one cuts deeper. Because for starters, it's a thousand percent true. The truth always hurts the most. The Senators were Brady and Stutzle's team for a while, but if Ottawa ever needed to choose between the two of them? Stutzle is the guy you build around. And the camera pan to both Brady and Matthew after that goal was perfect, so credit to the broadcast crew for also being dialed in all night along with the fans.
2. "Fuck you, Brady"
This is "Brady sucks" but just on steroids. It's filled with so much anger and hatred. You might get a few random "fuck you Brady" chants from the crowd on any given night, but never this many people in unison like this. Most people want to think about the children in the crowd. But when your hate for Brady Tkachuk runs this deep, you're making sure the kids are jumping in on it as well.
1. "Fuck your podcast"
Yup. That's the good stuff right there. That is the one.
Down 4-1 in the 3rd period and now these people don't even think of you as a hockey player anymore. They just think of you as a podcaster, and a shitty one at that. This is also one that cuts twice as deep because it's also going at Matthew. And you know what? I'm totally with them on this one. Not necessarily in the sense that I don't like the Wingmen podcast. But if I were Ottawa fans, I'd hate the shit out of that show. You have the CAPTAIN OF YOUR TEAM spending time every week recording a podcast while your team hasn't won a playoff series in a decade. I'd be furious about that if I were a Sens fan. You want the captain of your team being the most laser-focused guy in the locker room on the team finally getting some success in the playoffs, but Brady Tkachuk is too busy chopping it up with his brother talking about how great it is to play in Florida. They deserved to leave this review last night.
Advertisement
And then finally, we have a bonus round. Because while this wasn't a chant, it was definitely still a message being sent by Senators fans.
There will come a time that Brady Tkachuk is old and retired. He'll look back on the start of his NHL career and I'm sure a part of him will wish he still had some sort of connection to the Ottawa Senators. But this was the end of that. There's no coming back from an arena full of people throwing your jersey onto the ice. There will never be a Brady Tkachuk reunion ceremony in Ottawa. That relationship is cut off forever.
What an incredible night of hockey. October 21st and it seemed like everything was on the line. What a sport. Now just imagine what it will be like if we somehow end up with an Ottawa vs Florida matchup in the playoffs.