Matthew Tkachuk goes too far showing controversial video of Brady to his young nephew

Florida Panthers’ Matthew Tkachuk had a special reason to enjoy the team’s recent road trip to Ottawa: seeing his brother, Senators captain Brady Tkachuk, along with Brady’s wife and their young son, Ryder.

On the brother’s podcast on Wednesday, Matthew revealed that the best part of the trip wasn’t the hockey, it was spending time with his family. Ryder, curious about his dad, wanted to watch videos of Brady on Matthew’s phone. Matthew obliged, but made the very questionable decision of showing his nephew a clip of Brady venting, and swearing, about the swirling rumours in Ottawa regarding goaltender Linus Ullmark. I mean he is showing a toddler a video of his own father denying that he ever cheated on his mother!

A few weeks ago a crazy rumour was going around hockey media that essentially stated that Ullmark’s teammates had kicked him off the team for exposing some of his teammates for cheating on their wives.

In particular, Tkachuk was implicated in the rumours, leading him to make a strong denial to the media. He called the rumour ‘made up bullshit’ and admonished media members for spreading a false narrative, in a clip with a lot of bad words and profanities.

It was a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse at the personal toll these false stories can take on players and families, and Matthew said that Ryder was just happy to see his dad’s face on the cellphone.

The clip also raises a tricky question: should such a private moment of Brady swearing and venting about ongoing rumours really be shown to a young child, even by a trusted family member? It’s a reminder that NHL players’ lives off the ice are often under intense scrutiny, and even playful family interactions can become public fodder.

For the Tkachuk brothers, it might be a sign that some boundaries are worth holding, whether on podcasts, social media, or even between family members. The league, the media, and the fans rarely get the full picture, and moments like this show just how carefully players have to balance their personal lives with their public personas.

But Matthew was being Matthew and felt this was a good opportunity to tease his brother about it.