{"id":466898,"date":"2026-02-22T15:48:21","date_gmt":"2026-02-22T15:48:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/466898\/"},"modified":"2026-02-22T15:48:21","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T15:48:21","slug":"tkachuk-brothers-controversy-explained-why-world-especially-canada-loves-to-hate-usas-hockey-siblings-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/466898\/","title":{"rendered":"Tkachuk brothers controversy, explained: Why world (especially Canada) loves to hate USA’s hockey siblings"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tkachuk brothers controversy, explained: Why world (especially Canada) loves to hate USA’s hockey siblings<\/a> originally appeared on The Sporting News<\/a>. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Once again, the hockey world is treated to Canada taking on the United States in a high-stakes game.<\/p>\n

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Whenever these nations clash,\u00a0extracurricular activities\u00a0take place on the ice. More often than not, Matthew and Brady\u00a0Tkachuk are in the middle of these scrums, instigating them.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Tkachuk brothers, Matthew\u00a0(Florida Panthers) and Brady (Ottawa Senators), are frequently called the most hated players in hockey for their aggressive, agitating play\u00a0and\u00a0ability to provoke opponents.<\/p>\n

Although they possess top-tier skills, they remain polarizing figures due to their heavy involvement in these altercations; the other nations and players are not the biggest fans of this rough duo.<\/p>\n

The Sporting News dives into why the world loves to hate the USA’s hockey siblings.<\/p>\n

MORE 2026 OLYMPICS:\u00a0Live medal tracker<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Viewer’s guide<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Day-by-day schedule<\/a><\/p>\n

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Why are Tkachuk brothers controversial?<\/p>\n

They play an aggressive style that frequently results in ejections and brawls. During the 2025\u00a04 Nations Face-Off, they notably engaged in three fights within nine seconds of the start against Canada.<\/p>\n

Matthew, in particular, faces criticism for “turtling”\u2014provoking opponents to draw penalties but then avoiding fights once gloves come off. Many fans and players see these tactics as irritating or “shameful”.<\/p>\n

The hostility towards them is mostly situational. Opponent fans often dislike them, though many admit they’d love to have a Tkachuk on their team because of the winning prowess.<\/p>\n

MORE:\u00a0Inside the history of the USA-Canada hockey rivalry<\/a><\/p>\n

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Who do the Tkachuk brothers play for?<\/p>\n

Matthew plays for the Florida Panthers as an alternate captain and contributed to the team’s back-to-back Stanley Cup wins in 2024 and 2025. Meanwhile, Brady is the captain of the Ottawa Senators.<\/p>\n

Both brothers are representing\u00a0Team USA\u00a0at the\u00a02026 Winter Olympics\u00a0in Milan. This is their second straight February playing together on the same team, after competing in the\u00a02025 4 Nations Face-Off.<\/p>\n

MORE:\u00a0Ranking 11 best players in USA-Canada gold medal game<\/a><\/p>\n

Tkachuk brothers comments on Canada<\/p>\n

Matthew and Brady have been at the forefront of the intense rivalry between the United States and Canada.<\/p>\n

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During a preliminary game in Montreal in February 2025, the brothers notably engaged in three fights within nine seconds right after the opening whistle to “send a message” to the Canadian spectators.<\/p>\n

The brothers often mention their father, Keith Tkachuk, who lost the gold medal to Canada at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. Brady mentioned that the only advice he received from his father about Canada is that “there’s just a lot of regret if you don’t win”.<\/p>\n

Below are some of their outspoken and controversial remarks about their North American neighbors.<\/p>\n

Brady<\/p>\n

“There’s hatred there,” said Brady in an ESPN<\/a> interview. “I mean, they’ve been the top dog… and for us, we want to be in that position, be the best”.<\/p>\n

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Days before the Games started, Brady ignited controversy by asserting that the Canadian team was “past their prime” and warning they should “beg for mercy” at the Olympics, dismissing their recent achievements as “luck.”<\/p>\n

Matthew<\/p>\n

Matthew presented the tournament as an opportunity to finally break Canada’s dominance in best-on-best competitions. He emphasized, “The message we wanted to send is, ‘It’s our time right now.'”<\/p>\n

Matthew called the chance to play against Canada “the pinnacle of the sport,” and mentioned that there is “no better feeling” than being booed while scoring and winning against them.<\/p>\n

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MORE:\u00a0Sidney Crosby’s chances of playing in gold medal game<\/a><\/p>\n

Tkachuk brothers Donald Trump comments<\/p>\n

During the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, Matthew and Brady gained significant media attention for their public endorsement of President Donald Trump and their strong patriotism.<\/p>\n

The Tkachuk brothers, representing Team USA in men’s ice hockey, have publicly expressed their political preferences amid broader debate over athletes’ involvement\u00a0in politics during the Games.<\/p>\n

Following President Trump\u2019s criticism of other U.S. athletes\u2014such as skier Hunter Hess\u2014for having “mixed emotions” about representing the nation, the Tkachuks were highlighted by conservative commentators as exemplars of “unfiltered national pride.”<\/p>\n

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Matthew clarified that, although he is proud to serve his country, his primary attention remains on the game.\u00a0<\/p>\n

MORE:‘Miracle on Ice’ legend Mike Eruzione talks U.S. vs. Canada gold medal game<\/a><\/p>\n

Tkachuk brothers fights<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Tkachuk brothers often find themselves in high-profile conflicts, whether in the NHL or at international events like the 2026 Winter Olympics\u00a0and the\u00a02025 4 Nations Face-Off. Here are some of the more notable players they have butted heads with.<\/p>\n

Leon Draistaitl<\/p>\n

During the 2026 Olympics, Matthew reignited his long-standing rivalry with the German captain with a “hot mic” verbal jab that went viral.<\/p>\n

The comment was a pointed remark about Draisaitl’s Edmonton Oilers narrowly missing winning the Stanley Cup in consecutive years, losing to Tkachuk’s Florida Panthers.<\/p>\n

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Brandon Hagel<\/p>\n

Matthew famously fought Brandon Hagel merely two seconds\u00a0into the opening faceoff of the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off in order to set the tone for Team USA.<\/p>\n

Sam Bennett<\/p>\n

Immediately after Matthew’s fight, Brady challenged Sam Bennett,\u00a0Matthew\u2019s teammate on the Florida Panthers.<\/p>\n

Brad Marchand<\/p>\n

After Canada\u2019s 3-2 overtime win in the 4 Nations Face-Off, Marchand famously remarked, “Sometimes when you shoot your mouth off in the media, it bites you. They got a little bit ahead of themselves”.<\/p>\n

Despite the chirping, Marchand acknowledged they are “great players” with “effective” styles that few others in the league can match.<\/p>\n

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Igor Shesterkin<\/p>\n

Brady entered the crease, made contact with Shesterkin’s hand, and chaos unfolded. Every Ranger on the ice, including Shesterkin, engaged in the altercation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tkachuk brothers controversy, explained: Why world (especially Canada) loves to hate USA’s hockey siblings originally appeared on The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":466899,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5104],"tags":[15232,254,536,97,19,1761,146,57,5,2273,12601,94,264,4,72,25,5157,83,73,768],"class_list":["post-466898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ottawa-senators","tag-2026-olympics","tag-brad-marchand","tag-brady-tkachuk","tag-brandon-hagel","tag-canada","tag-draisaitl","tag-edmonton-oilers","tag-florida-panthers","tag-hockey","tag-igor-shesterkin","tag-keith-tkachuk","tag-matthew-tkachuk","tag-montreal","tag-nhl","tag-ottawa","tag-ottawa-senators","tag-ottawasenators","tag-sam-bennett","tag-senators","tag-sidney-crosby"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116115072919225236","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=466898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466898\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/466899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=466898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=466898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=466898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}