{"id":503342,"date":"2026-02-27T16:00:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T16:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/503342\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T16:00:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T16:00:07","slug":"tkachuk-sanderson-return-to-ottawa-with-gold-medals-controversy-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/503342\/","title":{"rendered":"Tkachuk, Sanderson return to Ottawa with gold medals, controversy"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the first time in two decades, two\u00a0Ottawa Senators<\/a>\u00a0are coming back to the nation\u2019s capital from an Olympics with a gold medal around their necks.<\/p>\n

Those two would be\u00a0Brady Tkachuk<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Jake Sanderson<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Last time it happened was 2006, when Daniel Alfredsson won gold for Sweden. <\/p>\n

Not bad company for the Senators\u2019 American stars.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m dreaming and somebody\u2019s got to wake me up,\u201d said Tkachuk Thursday about Team USA\u2019s victory in Italy.<\/p>\n

Last year, these two each scored a goal in the 4 Nations Face-off final loss against Canada<\/a>, but this time they were able to win the final game of an international tournament.<\/p>\n

In Milan, Sanderson was stellar on the back end, playing with Zach Werenski and Jaccob Slavin for large swaths of the tournament, tallying two assists.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Senators captain was excellent, amassing five points in six games. Sure, he had a bit of a tough gold-medal game, but they don\u2019t ask how, they ask what medal you bring home.<\/p>\n

By that measure, their performances were both golden.<\/p>\n

It was especially cool for Tkachuk as he and his brother, Matthew, had dreamed of playing together and winning gold \u2014 something that eluded their father, Keith, at three Olympics.<\/p>\n

Keith was the bridesmaid in 2002; his sons were the brides in 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo do it with Matthew and be with him for two-and-a-half weeks, non-stop together, and just how special that was, that\u2019s (something) we will forever remember,\u201d Tkachuk said.<\/p>\n

But if the Tkachuks are lovable when they are on your side, they can seem like cartoon villains if they are the opposition.<\/p>\n

\u2018Public enemy No. 1\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re not the happiest with me right now,\u201d Tkachuk said of Senators fans, speaking to Fox News on Tuesday. \u201c(I\u2019ll) go back and give them everything that I got.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a funny feeling, you feel their support every day, (then) for two weeks you\u2019re public enemy No. 1. Going back with a smile on my face and get ready for a playoff push.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unlike Alfredsson\u2019s gold medal, however, the aftermath of this victory came with a shade of controversy.<\/p>\n

During a dressing room celebration of their Olympic gold medal, the team took a call from President Donald Trump, who invited them to the White House.<\/p>\n

\u201cI must tell you, we\u2019re going to have to bring the women\u2019s team, you do know that,\u201d Trump said, adding he\u2019d \u201cprobably be impeached\u201d if he didn\u2019t also invite the women\u2019s team. That statement was met with laughs by some of the U.S. men, who engaged in a celebratory back-and-forth with Trump.<\/p>\n

Hilary Knight, captain of the US women\u2019s team, called the joke \u201cdistasteful and unfortunate\u201d ahead of her return to PWHL play. \u201cAnd, I think just the way women are represented, it\u2019s a great teaching point and really shines light on how women should be championed for their amazing feats,\u201d Knight said.<\/p>\n

The two Senators were asked about that exchange with the president.<\/p>\n

\u201cLooking back at it now, I think it was a mistake,\u201d Sanderson said. \u201cBut I think things got blown out of proportion a little bit. You know, we have nothing but the utmost respect for the women.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think if we were to do it again, I think we wouldn\u2019t do that, and we made a mistake. But, again, I think it kind of got blown out of proportion a little bit. We love the women.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jake Sanderson on the political ramifications of going to the White House and State of the Union.<\/p>\n

“I’m not big into the politics. I’m a hockey player at the end of the day. I think personally for me, I just live in my own world under a rock. “<\/p>\n

\u2014 Alex Adams (@alexadamsBTP_) February 26, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Said Tkachuk: \u201cHonestly, it was just a whirlwind of a moment. Can\u2019t be in control (of) what somebody says. It just caught (us) off-guard a little bit, talking to the president.\u201d<\/p>\n

As it happens, the Senators play their \u201cWomen in Sport\u201d game on Thursday versus Detroit.<\/p>\n

Also heard in the video of the call with the president was someone in the dressing room calling for the closing of the northern border.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been seeing stuff that people think it\u2019s me, but if you watch the video, that\u2019s not my voice and something that I never say,\u201d Tkachuk said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just think that\u2019s something that I never thought would happen in my head, and especially would never say it. I know it\u2019s crazy when things go on social media, how fast they go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tkachuk was asked if the political backdrop would affect his desire to stay in Ottawa. He\u2019s a free agent in 2028.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not something that has crossed my mind,\u201d he said. \u201cI love playing for this team. I love the guys in this room. I really believe in what we\u2019re all about.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the meantime, along with gearing up for his NHL return, Tkachuk is still celebrating with his family, though his one-year-old son Ryder is too young to understand the significance of his dad\u2019s accomplishment.<\/p>\n

\u201cYesterday, we were taking a picture (with the medal), and he thought (it) was \u2026 a wheel of a car, so he started doing car motions,\u201d said Tkachuk.<\/p>\n

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