Brady Tkachuk never has been afraid to drop the gloves in his National Hockey League career.
He isn’t right now, either, but the bottom line is that he can’t.
The Ottawa Senators captain told reporters on Monday that he’s not fully recovered from surgery on his right thumb, which he had in October, and can’t get into a fight because it wouldn’t be a smart decision.
Tkachuk wasn’t the least bit pleased with getting sucker-punched by Winnipeg Jets defenceman Logan Stanley in the club’s 4-2 victory on Saturday night at home, but couldn’t do anything to retaliate.
The thumb is still taped up and that would also be against the rules if Tkachuk had gotten into an altercation with Stanley. Fighting is a large element of Tkachuk’s game.
“I think it’s a part of who I am and part of creating room for myself for my teammates. Now I gotta be smart,” Tkachuk said. “People forget I had surgery. I missed six weeks and the repair went well, but I’m not going to put myself at risk to miss any time for that.
“I miss it, I wish I could be fighting. But for me, it’s about team toughness and everyone taking that load.”
According to hockeyfights.com, Tkachuk has 38 fights in his career.
He suffered the thumb injury in the club’s third game of the regular season against the Nashville Predators on Oct. 13 and returned in late November with his thumb taped up for every game.
This was the first time Tkachuk had spoken since the incident. He was getting treatment on Saturday after the game and wasn’t able to discuss what happened with Stanley, who was given a one-game suspension by the National Hockey League’s department of player safety on Sunday.
Midway through the second period, Tkachuk got in a wrestling match with Stanley near the Ottawa bench.
Tkachuk made it clear he couldn’t fight, but Stanley gave him a sucker punch to the head. Tkachuk wasn’t paying attention because one of the linemen had stepped in, trying to break the two up.
“Honestly, I was still watching the play and then out of the corner of my eye, I just see the punch coming, which caught me by surprise,” Tkachuk said.
“I didn’t really expect it. It’s all good.”
Somehow, Tkachuk was assessed a 10-minute misconduct while Stanley only received two minor penalties.
“I wasn’t happy getting suckered, but the league made its decision, but I’m over it and I couldn’t care less now. I’m over it now. I think I showed that I wasn’t happy. A lot of that other stuff I can’t control, so I’m moving on,” Tkachuk said. “I don’t shy away from anybody, but I’ve got tape on my hand, I can’t fight. The wires crossed that just happened.”
Between periods, Tkachuk told his team to make sure they got the victory and not to worry about making Stanley pay the price by having somebody go after him during the third period.
“At that point, you’re not thinking about retribution,” Tkachuk said. “You don’t want to put your team at risk. All that mattered was finishing off the game and getting the two points. That was our focus going into the third period, and all that other stuff will be dealt with in the future.”
The Jets and Senators won’t see each other again this season unless they meet in the Stanley Cup final, which is nearly impossible because Winnipeg is sitting in last place in the Western Conference.
Was the suspension enough?
“Those decisions aren’t up to me. One game, five games, three games, I’m not the one making the call,” Tkachuk said. “That’s their department, their job and, if they’re satisfied with it, that’s not for me to comment on it.”
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Stanley hasn’t reached out to Tkachuk, but that doesn’t bother him.
“I don’t feel it’s necessary,” Tkachuk said. “Stuff in the game happens. You never need to receive a text. It’s fine by me.”
With Tkachuk unable to fight, the Senators have had other players step up in different situations.
Give Drake Batherson some credit. He dropped the gloves with Justin Sourdif of the Washington Capitals on New Year’s Day. Batherson stepped up on behalf of teammate Thomas Chabot, who had taken a hard hit from Sourdif behind the net earlier.
It was Batherson’s first fight in nearly three years.
“The other night Drake stepped up and did an awesome job; he’s done that in the past. Told him I’ve never been more proud of him for stepping up for a teammate like that,” Tkachuk said. “I think we’re learning and growing in that area as well.”