Grade the moves: Brady Tkachuk is a Panther, Seattle gets another middle-six guy, Toronto takes a big risk

The offseason is starting to roll now. Let's talk about the early big moves.

Just a couple of days after I wrote about the Ottawa Senators and their Brady Tkachuk situation, and how it might not be the worst idea in the world to capitalize on his value given the uncertainty of his future with the team, they went ahead and actually traded him to the Florida Panthers to unite him with his brother, Matthew Tkachuk.

It’s the first truly blockbuster move of the offseason.

So let’s break out the old report card and grade that move, as well as the other major moves of the past week to get the NHL’s offseason officially rolling along.

The trade: Brady Tkachuk goes to Florida

• Florida gets: Brady Tkachuk

• Ottawa gets: 2026 first-round pick (No. 9 overall), 2026 first-round pick (No. 25 overall), 2027 second-round pick, and a 2029 first-round pick (top-10 protected)

The Florida side

When the Panthers traded Mackie Samoskevich earlier in the day on Sunday for the No. 25 overall pick (we’ll get to that one in a minute) it was pretty obvious they were accumulating assets and setting the stage for an even bigger blockbuster move. Given the lack of a goalie on the roster I figured they would be going all in for Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck, given that a goalie is probably the final missing piece the roster currently needs.

Maybe Dylan Larkin.

While I figured the Panthers would eventually be a destination for Brady, I wasn’t convinced it would happen THIS SUMMER.

And then it did.

In terms of raw cost and value, the Panthers probably overpaid a little. Three first-round picks, including a top-10 pick, is a steep price for an outstanding player that’s probably not quite a franchise-building block. He’s the No. 2 or 3 guy on a team. Not the No. 1 guy.

Fortunately for him and Florida, he doesn’t have to be the No. 1 guy.

He doesn’t even have to be the No. 2 guy.

Even with the high cost, even with the fact he’s now probably their third-best player (and maybe even fourth depending on how strongly you feel about Sam Reinhart, Anton Lundell, or one of the defensemen) I still absolutely get it for the Panthers, and it’s still a good move for them.

This is a win-now team with a chance to win another Stanley Cup in the very near future. There’s no need for them to hoard draft picks, and those picks are going to be far more valuable to them as potential trade chips than actual picks. There’s a very good chance that none of those draft picks, including the No. 9 overall pick this year, never equal the player that Tkachuk currently is in the NHL.

The only pick that MIGHT come back to haunt them is the 2029 first-round pick, but even then it comes with top-10 protections.

So how valuable is it REALLY going to be?

Still, this move wouldn’t have made sense for a team, like, say, the New York Rangers, or a team that’s trying to find a player to build around, or a mid-level contender that’s still a couple of pieces away.

But this team? This circumstance? I get it. It’s worth it. The Panthers didn’t take a step backwards last year because they suddenly became bad. They took a step backwards because their best player missed the entire year, their second-best player missed half of the year, and the rest of the roster was decimated by injuries by the end of it.

The only thing I’d potentially quibble with here is if they could have used those first-round picks to get an even better player that doesn’t happen to share the same last name as one of their other top players. Perhaps even a goalie. But they still have four second-round picks over the next two years to use as trade chips. They can still find a goalie.

They better, at least.

Panthers Grade: A-

The Ottawa side

The consensus I was seeing on Sunday regarding this move is that it was a kick in the teeth for Senators fans that came through an extensive rebuild and watched as their captain got traded away for nothing but draft picks.

On the surface, yes.

Absolutely.

I get that sentiment, and on paper, as we sit right now on June 22, 2026, that is absolutely how it looks.

But this trade is going to ultimately be defined by what the Senators can do with those picks.

Like I said the other day, even without Tkachuk this is a team that still has high-level talent on its roster. Tim Stutzle is a better scorer than Tkachuk. Jake Sanderson is rapidly turning into a top-tier defenseman. Their overall defensive structure and possession-driving play was elite this past season.

There’s still SOMETHING here.

And now they have some newfound salary cap space and two extra first-round picks this year (as well as their own first-round pick at No. 32) to work with. They should be aggressively shopping the No. 9 and 25 picks as much as possible over the next few days to see if they can get immediate help.

There’s also the more subjective element of no longer having to deal with a captain that is counting down the days before he can leave, and not having to listen to his brother and dad talk shit about the way you’re using him.

It’s over. You can move on. Maybe you can position yourself to still be in good shape.

But that ultimately comes down to whether or not the front office can actually pull that off … and find somebody that wants to stay in Ottawa.

If they can’t, and just end up making the picks … it’s a little more underwhelming.

That path can change the grade a full letter grade in either direction.

Ottawa Grade: B-/C+ (for now)

This wasn't the only major move of the past week. Let’s talk about the trade that help preceded this move, Toronto taking an expensive gamble on Darren Raddysh, Seattle’s continue infatuation with middle-six forwards and San Jose making a solid under-the-radar move for a defenseman.

(I also wrote some stuff about this trade over at Yardbarker, including the trend of players forcing their way out of Canadian teams and onto American teams that win. You can check those out here and here)