TSN\u2019s annual Top 50 list of NHL players is set to be unveiled starting on Monday, but one of the biggest names in the off-season just missed the cut.<\/p>\n
Newly minted Florida Panthers<\/a> forward Brady Tkachuk<\/a> just missed out on the top 50, landing at No. 51 on this season\u2019s list. He falls off the top 50 list after landing at No. 37 last season.<\/p>\n Tkachuk, 26, registered 22 goals and 59 points in 60 games with the Ottawa Senators<\/a> last season after missing time early due to a thumb injury. He did not record a point in the playoffs as the Senators were swept by the eventual Stanley Cup-champion Carolina Hurricanes<\/a> in the first round.<\/p>\n With Tkachuk entering the sixth season of a seven-year, $57.5 million contract, questions surrounded the Scottsdale, Ariz., native about his plans for the future in Ottawa and his commitment to the team.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like I\u2019ve answered this hundreds of times,\u201d Tkachuk said in late April. \u201cNone of those things ever came out of my mouth. Quite honestly, it\u2019s just getting frustrating. It\u2019s becoming a distraction. I have been fully committed to this team, to this city, and it\u2019s just become a distraction and frustrating to deal with.\u201d<\/p>\n About two months after those comments, it was known that Tkachuk requested a trade from the Senators to the Panthers, which was consummated prior to the NHL Draft. Florida sent Ottawa two first-round picks in the 2026 NHL Draft, a top-10 protected first-round pick in the 2029 NHL Draft, and a second-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft.<\/p>\n When asked this week what changed since his end-of-season comments, Tkachuk spoke of the emotional toll of what the decision entailed.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of time, a lot of reflection, and it wasn\u2019t an easy decision,\u201d Tkachuk told reporters on Wednesday.<\/a> \u201cIt was a really, really hard decision, and something that was emotional. It took a lot of time to get to that.\u201d<\/p>\n Drafted fourth overall by the Senators in 2018, Tkachuk has 213 goals and 463 points in 572 career games in eight seasons playing in Ottawa.<\/p>\n He became the 10th captain in franchise history in November of 2021 and helped the Senators end an eight-year playoff drought when the team claimed a wild-card spot in the 2024-25 campaign.<\/p>\n Tkachuk joins a Florida squad that won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2024 and 2025 but took a step back last season, missing the playoffs with a 40-38-4 record.<\/p>\n He is united with his brother, Matthew, who he teamed up with last February as part of the United States\u2019 run to a gold medal at Milano Cortina 2026.<\/p>\n The Panthers\u2019 Stanley Cup core remains intact with the team also expecting to have captain Aleksander Barkov<\/a> back after he missed the entire 2025-26 season while recovering from ACL and MCL injuries.<\/p>\n After playing into June for two straight seasons, the Panthers were able to have a full off-season of rest as the team looks to return to the top of the Atlantic Division. Like Brady, Matthew missed significant time due to injuries last season, and all indications are that he\u2019s fully healthy and ready to start the 2026-27 campaign.<\/p>\n The only injury question mark for the Panthers surrounds star winger Brad Marchand<\/a>, who announced that he underwent surgery in August.<\/p>\n