Four days ago, a fan favorite trade target was shipped off, with Brady Tkachuk being shipped off from the Ottawa Senators to the Florida Panthers in exchange for three first-round picks (including 9th and 25th overall in today's draft) and a second-round pick. Despite losing out on a legitimately appealing top-six option -- one that they desperately need -- there is still some hope to come out of this move for the Devils.
The thing is, Brady Tkachuk forced his way to Florida to play with his brother. Reportedly, his agent provided the Senators with a four-team trade list, including the Panthers, Hurricanes, Wild, and Golden Knights. However, as respected pundit Pierre LeBrun reported, it became clear that the Panthers were really the only team Tkachuk was going to waive for. Sure, some of it was about winning, but the bulk of it was centered around playing with his brother.
For the Devils, who have two-thirds of the Hughes armada, this should be a moderately encouraging sign that perhaps, despite words from the Minnesota Wild owner that he is confident in Quinn Hughes re-signing with the organization. It's possible that Craig Leipold's comments are just a smokescreen.
Brady Tkachuk situation shows that players can get to their desired destination despite being under contract
The reality of the situation is that the brothers have been pining to play on the same team for a number of years. The other reality is that both Jack and Luke are signed in New Jersey for a number of years, while Quinn will be an unrestricted free agent after 2026-27. Even more pressingly, it has been reported that, despite the words from Wild owner Craig Leipold, there have been no real discussions about what a contract might look like, even with his eligibility to do so beginning in a few days.
Given all that, doesn't it seem at least possible that there will be no extension? If the brothers want to play together, their prime is the time to do so. With Luke under contract for six more seasons, and Jack for three, the realistic timeline -- assuming they truly do want to play with each other -- is sooner rather than later.
Tkachuk forced his way to playing with his brother in Florida. Even the not-yet-drafted Ruck twins have been verbose about their desires to play for the same team. In the past, we saw Scott Niedermayer force his way to playing with his brother in Anaheim. The Sedin twins refused not to play with each other. It's clearly something that families value more heavily than anything else, and it would be silly not to think of it as a possibility.
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