When you think of a comeback, you think of the Ottawa Senators. The team performed exceptionally well when captain Brady Tkachuk was out for an extended period, maintaining a steady record. On Tuesday, the captain’s resurgence was made abundantly clear through his performance against the Montreal Canadiens when he scored his first goal of the season.

Off the ice, the Tkachuk brothers have kept fans entertained through their podcast: Wingmen. On the latest episode, Brady Tkachuk addressed a contentious issue surrounding Buffalo Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and clarified his stance on the same.

Brady Tkachuk Supports Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen Amid Social Media Fiasco

The Sabres haven’t made the playoffs in a painfully long while, and this season offers little hope for things to change for the better. The team is still languishing at the bottom of the Atlantic Division, having recently experienced some success with two consecutive wins against the Minnesota Wild and the Winnipeg Jets.

However, discontent among the fan base of a team that has repeatedly failed to make a mark season after season should be pervasive and manifest in various ways. 26-year-old Sabres goalie, Luukkonen, faced the ire of the community when he decided to have a social life right after Sidney Crosby’s Pittsburgh Penguins handed Buffalo a defeat.

The Sabres lost to the Penguins 4-2 on Nov. 26 at the PPG Paints Arena. Luukkonen made 15 saves in the game and emphasized how the Sabres, despite the outcome, had played well. “I think we had really, really solid things in the game, too, today. So, it’s frustrating that we kind of lose it the way like that,” the netminder confessed, reported NHL’s independent correspondent, Wes Crosby.

At any rate, the Sabres roster returned home, and the 26-year-old goalie headed to a bar to unwind, only for it to become news instantly. Sabres fans did not expect Luukkonen, or any player of the team for that matter, to socialize right after a loss.

Addressing the issue on the “Wingmen” podcast, Tkachuk openly came out in the 26-year-old’s support, aggressively refuting any notion that prohibits NHL players from enjoying their time away from the ice.

For Tkachuk, as long as the team isn’t playing the next day, it is entirely acceptable for players to live their lives as they wish. “What’s the big deal, he is my age. we are young guys, if we wanna go to the bar, we are gonna go to the bar,” Tkachuk said in the most matter-of-fact way possible.

Tkachuk emphasized that, outside the rink and the incessant competition, hockey players are still “normal people.” The Senators’ captain also harshly addressed the Sabres fan who decided that Luukkonen’s actions weren’t acceptable. “I don’t know why this guy made a big scene out of it, like stay in your own lane.”

Hockey is a high-intensity sport, and losses can weigh heavily on both the franchise and its fan base. Nonetheless, lashing out on social media about players using their free time as they like is hardly the way to go about it.