Tkachuk family to grace deluxe edition cover of EA Sports NHL 26
The Florida Panthers' Matthew Tkachuk serves as the standard-edition cover star, while his brother Brady and father Keith join him on Deluxe Edition.
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The cover of NHL 26 Deluxe Edition is a family affair for the Tkachuks.
The National Hockey League and EA Sports announced on Wednesday that Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk, along with his brother Matthew of the Florida Panthers and father, Keith, who had a legendary career, will be featured on the cover.
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The game will be released next month.
Keith Tkachuk suited up 1,201 NHL games for the Winnipeg Jets, Phoenix Coyotes, St. Louis Blues and Atlanta Thrashers. He finished with 538 goals and 1,065 points during his career and is wearing a Blues jersey on the cover.
Brady, 25, has made his mark since being drafted No. 4 overall by the Senators in 2019. In 512 games in his NHL career, Brady has scored 191 goals, 213 assists and 404 points.
He’s also a force to be reckoned with physically and helped lead the Senators to the playoffs for the first time in eight years this past season.
“Growing up, Matthew and I dreamed of playing just like our dad,” Brady said in a news release. “Even now, his influence on how we play and prepare remains huge. It’s an honour to be featured on the cover and having him standing alongside us makes the whole thing even better.”
Brady will also be featured in Prime Video’s second season of FACEOFF: Inside the NHL.
People will get a look at Brady’s life away from the Canadian Tire Centre while also having the opportunity to see how he interacts with his teammates, coaching staff and the club’s management.
Brady is in his fifth full season wearing the ‘C’ with the Senators. A four-time NHL all-star, Tkachuk has emerged as one of the league’s top players.
In a lengthy interview with ESPN.com’s Greg Whyshnski, Keith threw cold water on any speculation that Brady isn’t happy with the Senators.
“I wouldn’t believe everything you hear. I think after what happened with Matthew in Calgary, everyone just assumes that’s going to happen with Brady,” Keith said.
“But Brady loves it there. Brady has cemented himself in the community. They’re a team on the rise. They got a great bunch of young players. They’re core players. The fans and the city itself treat him so well. He wants to be a big part of that moving forward. So I don’t think he’s going anywhere.”
The show will also give people a glimpse of Brady and Matthew suiting up for Team USA together for the inaugural 4 Nations Faceoff held in Montreal and Boston this past February.
Matthew is coming off his second straight Stanley Cup win with the Florida Panthers and, as long as he’s healthy, the expectation is the duo will suit up together again for the Americans at the 2026 Winter Olympics being held in Italy.
Keith said it would mean a lot to the family to see their sons competing on the world stage.
“It would mean everything. It really would. I mean, just for them to both be named among the first six selected is amazing,” Keith told the website.
“But it’s more about them playing together at such a high level, in the most watched thing probably in all sports, the Winter Olympics. I know they enjoyed playing together at the 4 Nations. I mean, it was something to see. It was. They had so much fun.
“The worst part about the whole thing was when they went to their training camp for the 4 Nations and they iced me out. They knew I had FOMO. I knew it was Matthew. He wouldn’t let Brady answer my phone calls. They iced me out for four days until I finally went to Montreal to see them.”
Matthew is proud that the trio is sharing the cover.
“My dad, Brady and I are all unique and play the way we want to,” Matthew said. “Sharing the cover of NHL 26 is an extension of that.”
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