Florida Panthers' Brady Tkachuk returning to Ottawa Oct.21

The Ottawa Senators faithful won't have to wait very long to boo former captain Brady Tkachuk, as the NHL released it's schedule, and the Panthers make a visit to Ottawa on October 21.

The league announced it's entire schedule on Thursday, and this game certainly tops the list of highly anticipated contests early on in the new 84-game season. This will be Tkachuk's first visit back to Ottawa after requesting a trade this past offseason, and he admitted recently on his podcast that he's well aware some serious boo birds are coming his way.

The Tkachuk trade saw the former Sens captain shipped to the Panthers to join his brother Matthew, in an exchange for two 2026 first-round picks, and a 2029 first-round pick, which is top-10 protected, along with a 2027 second rounder. 

The Senators then shipped out their ninth overall pick to the San Jose Sharks, in a deal to land William Eklund. Eklund is very close to a few of the Sens players, and with his untapped potential, the former top pick of the Sharks could be heading towards a breakout season, playing more minutes in Ottawa.

As for the Tkachuk drama, word is after Team USA won Olympic gold, Tkachuk found playing for the Senators stale, and his attitude changed completely once he returned. His teammates noticed, the coaching staff noticed, and management wasn't necessarily surprised once the trade request was made formal.

It's not coincidence that Tkachuk asked for a trade, Dylan Larkin wants a new team, Connor Hellebuyck wants out of Winnipeg, and there's also been rumors floating around this summer about Zach Werenski in Columbus, and Auston Matthews in Toronto. Something was said in that Team USA dressing room, and hopefully Netflix has the recording to eventually release a docu-series.