Genetics of Winning: How Will Matthew Tkachuk's First Championship Affect Brady?

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It’s no secret that genetics are relevant to who ends up playing in professional sports, and the NHL is no exception.

For every Gretzky, Crosby, Mackinnon, Matthews, or McDavid who emerges from bloodlines that never made the NHL, there is a Howe, Hull, Foligno, Statsny, Parise, and yes, the Tkachuks, who have followed in the family bloodlines to achieve NHL success.

Sibling rivalries are alive and well in the NHL. They include the Staals, Hughes, Robertsons, Tanevs, Stromes, Josephs, and, of course, the Tkachuks.

Matthew Tkachuk, in the midst of his Stanley Cup glory, managed to do the Ottawa Senators one of the greatest favours by serving notice to the world that Brady would soon enjoy playoff success.

"I know my brother is going to be [in the Stanley Cup Final] soon... He's too good not to be."

Sens fans should thank Matthew for inspiring their captain. Perhaps Matthew can keep it going and make another SUV commercial. In this one, Matthew brags about his Stanley Cup ring while Brady pouts in the backseat again.

Of the 26 father/son combos in NHL history, only Bobby and Brett Hull have won the Stanley Cup.

But out of 47 brothers on record to have played in the NHL since 1917, ten pairs of brothers have won the Stanley Cup. Those odds are pretty good. The one who gets to the Holy Grail first provides the impetus for his brother(s) to follow suit.

Consider these examples.

In terms of the most decorated brother duos, you can’t overlook Maurice (8) and Henri Richard (11), who won a combined 19 championships, only five of which came together. They were all for the same organization, and Henri learned how to win from his brother.

Tony Esposito’s Stanley Cup win with the Habs in 1969 no doubt spurred his brother, Phil, to win Cups in ’70 and ’72 with the Bruins.

Frank (6) and Peter (4) Mahovlich won a combined ten championships, with their last coming together in ’73. Having recorded four, Frank surely motivated and taught his younger brother about winning.

In terms of volume, the largest brother contingent to play in the NHL is the six Sutter brothers. Duane won the four Islander championships, and Brent played for two of those. Darryl has won two Stanley Cups as a head coach. One can only imagine what it was like at family reunion time in Viking, AB, in the 1980s and how that brought out the competitive juices in an already highly competitive gene pool.

The Niedermayers, Scott and Rob, painfully won a Cup together (at the Senators' expense) after Scott had already collected three championship rings with New Jersey. Scott probably wanted that ring in ’07 for his brother as much as for himself.

Eric Staal won the Cup with Carolina in ’06, and Jordan picked up his in ’09 with the Penguins. One can only wonder how that makes Marc feel, having been part of the Panthers' run to the finals last season.

So, it doesn’t always end equitably. Sometimes, one brother doesn't win, and sometimes, the whole family gets shut out.

But it’s hard to imagine that Matthew's achievement won’t positively affect Brady. Not simply from good-natured ribbing amongst siblings but by osmosis from being around and learning from his older brother.

Since arriving in 2018, Brady Tkachuk has never failed to show his desire to win and try and turn this franchise around. His leadership has been a work in progress as he tries to find a balance between leading his team into the fight and actually fighting.

Fans should expect a newer Brady next season, one that is still brazen and a pain in the ass to play against, like his brother, but also someone with less to prove in bravado and more to prove in generating results.

And now he has a family mentor to help him with the one thing he couldn’t learn from Keith.