Certain players thrive in the playoffs, especially those of the Tkachuk variety. Keith Tkachuk never really got a fair look in the playoffs making appearances as a Jet, Coyote, Thrasher for most of his seasons, but had an impact as a Blue. Matthew Tkachuk, Leafs fans will know for what he can bring in the playoffs (5 points and 22 hits in 5 games against the Leafs) and as the 2023 leader in penalty post season penalty minutes and generally being a point per game player throughout his post seasons in Florida, the template for what to expect from Brady&#8217;s first playoff appearance is pretty clear.
While Brady might not be on the same level of his brother when it comes to producing offence, he is just as likely to be a pain in the ass, albeit also in a slightly different way. Where Matthew Tkachuk generally relies more on agitating tactics, Brady Tkachuk is far more of the heavy, coming in with big hits, not backing down, and being more capable of shadowing top players and making their lives miserable. The notion of Tkachuk matching up against Marner shouldn&#8217;t be lost on anyone and he could be a big part of the continued &#8220;Mitch Marner going quiet in the playoffs&#8221; narrative.
Tkachuk&#8217;s hit count this season 228, down from his 294 last season and actually his lowest total since his rookie season. It was still good enough for 16th in the league, and only Brady Tkachuk and Tom Wilson were able to combine having more than 18 minutes of ice time a night, with 200+ hits, and 20+ goals this season. That might seem like an odd specific way of looking at this skillset but when looking at the narrowest definition of a &#8220;power forward&#8221; this puts Tkachuk in limited company.
Tkachuk also throws the general assumption that if you have a high hit count you probably don&#8217;t have the puck a lot. Brady has gone against this when it comes to his on ice numbers ending the season with a Corsi For % of 53.6, a High Danger Corsi For % of 56.2%, and Expected Goals For of 55.5%. Oddly enough, it was actual 5v5 Goals For where Brady struggled and the Senators had a 48.7% result with him on the ice, and his .978 PDO, career low individual shooting percentage of 5.67%, and on ice shooting percentage of 6.67% capture that offensive hockey wasn&#8217;t the strength of the 2024-25 Senators team.
Not surprisingly, the offensive success that Tkachuk had this year came from his success right in front of the goaltender, which likely signals he will be an ongoing pain in the ass for either Brandon Carlo or Chris Tanev throughout the series. Historically, a large net front presence with finishing capability would be spell the end of the Leafs, but the notably different makeup of the Leafs&#8217; blueline will make life as difficult for Tkachuk as he is making it for them.
15 of Tkachuk&#8217;s 29 goals were scored 5v5, which doesn&#8217;t paint him as a primary offensive threat and someone the Leafs can work around especially if they are more thoughtful in their matchups against Tkachuk&#8217;s likely linemates, Tim Stutzle and Claude Giroux. Though, Tkachuk is likely to go out of his way to be an ass to help create space for them so they can in turn create opportunities for him.
The stuff that doesn&#8217;t show up on the scoresheet is where Tkachuk will provide his value while still needing to be treated with the respect of a top line offensive threat. Tkachuk will make himself a lightning rod through his hits, fights, and comments in this series and as the captain he&#8217;ll set the standard for which others like Dylan Cozens, Nick Cousins, and Ridly Greig will all follow suit. If Tkachuk decides he wants to have a greasy series, it can quickly devolve into that and through the game management approach of NHL officials, there is a strong likelihood that he&#8217;ll get away with a lot more than he gets called on.
Tkachuk&#8217;s five fight majors also point to a player that won&#8217;t back down and this could be an advantage for the Leafs. The Leafs don&#8217;t have anyone of Tkachuk&#8217;s skill level that is willing to engage in a fight and if Toronto can get favourable five minute breaks from Tkachuk they should happily take them.
While Brady&#8217;s brother Matthew is the easiest comparison to make here, there are likely greater similarities to Sam Bennett as recent playoff pain in the ass. The strategy of making life difficult for the Leafs has worked well for their opponents in the past as every Leafs playoff defeat has had similar issues of not claiming tough areas of the ice and being outmuscled. Tkachuk and his ability to set the pace for the Senators could present that problem once again for the Leafs and if he isn&#8217;t immediately subdued the Senators will take advantage.
Data from <a href="http://naturalstattrick.com">Natural Stat Trick</a>, <a href="http://nhl.com/edge">NHL Edge</a>, and <a href="http://hockey-reference.com">Hockey Reference</a>

Certain players thrive in the playoffs, especially those of the Tkachuk variety. Keith Tkachuk never really got a fair look in the playoffs making appearances as a Jet, Coyote, Thrasher for most of his seasons, but had an impact as a Blue. Matthew Tkachuk, Leafs fans will know for what he can bring in the playoffs (5 points and 22 hits in 5 games against the Leafs) and as the 2023 leader in penalty post season penalty minutes and generally being a point per game player throughout his post seasons in Florida, the template for what to expect from Brady's first playoff appearance is pretty clear.

While Brady might not be on the same level of his brother when it comes to producing offence, he is just as likely to be a pain in the ass, albeit also in a slightly different way. Where Matthew Tkachuk generally relies more on agitating tactics, Brady Tkachuk is far more of the heavy, coming in with big hits, not backing down, and being more capable of shadowing top players and making their lives miserable. The notion of Tkachuk matching up against Marner shouldn't be lost on anyone and he could be a big part of the continued "Mitch Marner going quiet in the playoffs" narrative.

Tkachuk's hit count this season 228, down from his 294 last season and actually his lowest total since his rookie season. It was still good enough for 16th in the league, and only Brady Tkachuk and Tom Wilson were able to combine having more than 18 minutes of ice time a night, with 200+ hits, and 20+ goals this season. That might seem like an odd specific way of looking at this skillset but when looking at the narrowest definition of a "power forward" this puts Tkachuk in limited company.

Tkachuk also throws the general assumption that if you have a high hit count you probably don't have the puck a lot. Brady has gone against this when it comes to his on ice numbers ending the season with a Corsi For % of 53.6, a High Danger Corsi For % of 56.2%, and Expected Goals For of 55.5%. Oddly enough, it was actual 5v5 Goals For where Brady struggled and the Senators had a 48.7% result with him on the ice, and his .978 PDO, career low individual shooting percentage of 5.67%, and on ice shooting percentage of 6.67% capture that offensive hockey wasn't the strength of the 2024-25 Senators team.

Not surprisingly, the offensive success that Tkachuk had this year came from his success right in front of the goaltender, which likely signals he will be an ongoing pain in the ass for either Brandon Carlo or Chris Tanev throughout the series. Historically, a large net front presence with finishing capability would be spell the end of the Leafs, but the notably different makeup of the Leafs' blueline will make life as difficult for Tkachuk as he is making it for them.

15 of Tkachuk's 29 goals were scored 5v5, which doesn't paint him as a primary offensive threat and someone the Leafs can work around especially if they are more thoughtful in their matchups against Tkachuk's likely linemates, Tim Stutzle and Claude Giroux. Though, Tkachuk is likely to go out of his way to be an ass to help create space for them so they can in turn create opportunities for him.

The stuff that doesn't show up on the scoresheet is where Tkachuk will provide his value while still needing to be treated with the respect of a top line offensive threat. Tkachuk will make himself a lightning rod through his hits, fights, and comments in this series and as the captain he'll set the standard for which others like Dylan Cozens, Nick Cousins, and Ridly Greig will all follow suit. If Tkachuk decides he wants to have a greasy series, it can quickly devolve into that and through the game management approach of NHL officials, there is a strong likelihood that he'll get away with a lot more than he gets called on.

Tkachuk's five fight majors also point to a player that won't back down and this could be an advantage for the Leafs. The Leafs don't have anyone of Tkachuk's skill level that is willing to engage in a fight and if Toronto can get favourable five minute breaks from Tkachuk they should happily take them.

While Brady's brother Matthew is the easiest comparison to make here, there are likely greater similarities to Sam Bennett as recent playoff pain in the ass. The strategy of making life difficult for the Leafs has worked well for their opponents in the past as every Leafs playoff defeat has had similar issues of not claiming tough areas of the ice and being outmuscled. Tkachuk and his ability to set the pace for the Senators could present that problem once again for the Leafs and if he isn't immediately subdued the Senators will take advantage.

Data from <a href="http://naturalstattrick.com">Natural Stat Trick</a>, <a href="http://nhl.com/edge">NHL Edge</a>, and <a href="http://hockey-reference.com">Hockey Reference</a>

Brady Tkachuk has playoff pain in the ass written all over him

Recent articles from Jon Steitzer

Breaking News