Brady Tkachuk's controversial reason for leaving Ottawa is reportedly exposed

Brady Tkachuk's exit from the Ottawa Senators has a new explanation, and owner Michael Andlauer delivered it Tuesday without flinching.

Speaking with Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, Andlauer didn't dance around it. "Blood is thicker than water, and let's just say that his father and his brother got in his kitchen."

That means Keith and Matthew. Andlauer added that the decision to go play with his brother was "out of our control to a certain degree."

Here's the awkward part. Brady had pushed back publicly on the idea that joining Matthew was his main reason for wanting out.

Both versions can't be fully true. The owner just put his on the record, and it doesn't flatter the player.

Andlauer also rejected the theory that Ottawa fans turned on the winger after Team USA beat Canada for Olympic gold. He insisted they were behind him "right to the end."

"I have no doubt in my mind," the owner said. Plenty of people who heard the reaction in Ottawa after the Olympics would argue otherwise.

Andlauer calls the Americans want out of Canada theory overhyped

That was his exact word. "I think it's overhyped," Andlauer said, speaking specifically about his own roster.

He named Tyler Kleven and Shane Pinto, two Americans he called "very important pieces of our organization."

Kleven picked up an assist and went plus-2 in Monday night's 3-2 overtime loss in Montreal.

Pinto didn't register a point in that one. Ottawa visits Toronto on Wednesday, then opens the regular season there October 3.

The Senators lost far more than a name on the back of a sweater. Tkachuk walked out with 463 points in 572 games, every single one in Ottawa.

He also left with 821 penalty minutes, which tells you exactly what kind of player Florida just added to its bench.

His final regular season in Ottawa produced 59 points in 60 games.

The spring was a different story. He went pointless in four playoff games.

So what does an owner gain by saying all of this out loud now?

It's the hockey version of an ex explaining the breakup to mutual friends. Everybody nods politely, and nobody fully buys either side.

Andlauer's candor is refreshing. But pinning it on the family also conveniently lets the fan base off the hook, and that's a tidy story for the man signing the cheques.

The Panthers open September 29 in Carolina. Then comes October 21, when Florida walks into Ottawa and the fans Andlauer defended get to answer for themselves.

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