Senators' captain Brady Tkachuk gets 100% real ahead of his playoff debut against rival Maple Leafs

Brady Tkachuk is about to get his first taste of playoff hockey.

After six years of not even sniffing the postseason, Tkachuk captained the Ottawa Senators to a 45-30-7 record, good for 97 points and the top wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference in 2024-25.

His long-awaited Stanley Cup Playoff debut will come against none other than his biggest rival, the Toronto Maple Leafs. While the Battle of Ontario makes it that much more special, Brady Tkachuk doesn't need any extra motivation or rivalry to get fired up for playoff hockey.

Tkachuk spoke to the media on Sunday morning and was soaking it all in, expressing his excitement for the moment as he prepares for Game 1. TSN shared the clip of his comments on X (formerly Twitter).

"I slept great. It was one of the best sleeps I’ve had in a long time. So, yeah, it was just, waking up today, I can’t believe today’s the day," Tkachuk said.

"Yeah, it’s been a long time coming ... to finally be here, it's surreal, everybody's excited and it's gonna be awesome," Tkachuk added.

If the 4 Nations Face-Off was any indication, expect Brady Tkachuk to be a force in this first-round clash with the Maple Leafs. The star winger has three years remaining after this season on the seven-year, $57,564,958 contract extension he signed with the Senators back in 2021.

Brady Tkachuk is healthy and ready to go

After missing eight of the final nine games in the regular season, Brady Tkachuk is healthy and ready for what matters most.

The 25-year-old had been dealing with an upper-body injury that stemmed from a collision on March 30 with Penguins defenseman Ryan Graves. After several weeks out of action, he returned for Thursday night's regular season finale against the Carolina Hurricanes and came out of it unscathed.

Despite the injury, Tkachuk had another productive season, amassing 55 points (29 goals, 26 assists) in just 72 games played. He also displayed his typical physical presence, throwing 228 hits throughout the campaign. He'll need to dial it up another notch to pull off the upset and take down the rival Toronto Maple Leafs in round one of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Brady Tkachuk will lead the Ottawa Senators into Game 1 of the Battle of Ontario on Sunday night in Toronto. The puck drops at 7 p.m. EDT at Scotiabank Arena.