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Senators Trade Captain Tkachuk to Panthers, Gain Three 2026 Picks

6/23/2026

31 4 Full Breakdown

Summary

Tkachuk Joins Panthers

Ottawa Senators traded captain Brady Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers for No. 9 and No. 25 picks in the 2026 draft and additional future picks.
Tkachuk exercised his no-movement clause and chose Florida over the Minnesota Wild, Vegas Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes.
Ottawa now holds three 2026 first-round picks, the No. 32 pick and $25 million in cap space, showing growing player power.

Summary

Zito Trades Picks

Panthers lost three first-round picks and will have no selections until the 2030 draft, GM Bill Zito said.
Florida now has eleven players signed through 2029-30, including Bennett, Ekblad and Marchand.
Zito plans to trade the ninth and 25th overall picks for elite talent rather than rebuild.
He says depth, contract stability and the Tkachuk brothers as marketing faces keep the Panthers a perennial contender despite the draft deficit.

Summary

Tkachuk Inducted

Keith Tkachuk was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday, with the 2026 class ceremony set for Nov. 9.
He wore No. 8 with the Atlanta Thrashers in 2006-07 and finished with 1,121 points, ranking 35th all-time.
Brady Tkachuk will wear No. 8 for Florida because 7 and 27 are taken, reuniting him with brother Matthew on the Panthers, the pair who represented Team USA at the February Winter Olympics.

History

Historical Context

After the 2004-05 lockout forced the NHL to cancel an entire season, the 2005 collective bargaining agreement instituted a hard $39 million salary cap and required acquiring teams to assume a player’s full cap hit, ending cash-in-trades. The 2013 CBA later permitted salary retention of up to 15 % of the cap, reshaping how teams like the Ottawa Senators and Florida Panthers manage roster assets.

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Tkachuk Joins Panthers

Ottawa Senators traded captain Brady Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers for No. 9 and No. 25 picks in the 2026 draft and additional future picks.
Tkachuk exercised his no-movement clause and chose Florida over the Minnesota Wild, Vegas Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes.
Ottawa now holds three 2026 first-round picks, the No. 32 pick and $25 million in cap space, showing growing player power.

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