Early career/background Tkachuk is of
Ukrainian and Irish heritage. He was born at the Melrose/Wakefield Hospital in
Melrose,
Massachusetts, grew up in
Medford, Massachusetts Tkachuk played one season of collegiate hockey at
Boston University, was a member of the
United States national junior team in
1991 and
1992 and a member of
Team USA in
1992. He was drafted in the first round, 19th overall, in the
1990 NHL entry draft by the
Winnipeg Jets, who acquired the pick from the
Buffalo Sabres in the deal that sent
Dale Hawerchuk to Buffalo.
Winnipeg Jets / Phoenix Coyotes (1992–2001) Only days after the end of the
1992 Winter Olympics, Tkachuk made his NHL debut on February 28, 1992, against the
Vancouver Canucks, where he tallied an assist. He would finish the season playing with the Jets, scoring eight points in 17 games. In the
Stanley Cup playoffs that year, he scored three goals in seven games. The following season,
1992–93, was Tkachuk's official rookie year. He appeared in 83 games and ended the season with 28 goals and 51 points, including a 12–game scoring streak from March 9 to April 3, 1993. Tkachuk became the team
captain the next season on November 3, 1993, two weeks after recording his first
hat-trick, against the
Philadelphia Flyers. Some of his accomplishments from that season include leading the Jets in goals (41), points (81) and power-play goals (22). The
1994–95 season, which was shortened by a
labor lockout, saw Tkachuk earn all-star second-team honors, as well as being second on the Jets in points scored. By the end of the 1994–95 season, it was clear that the Jets were in a dire financial situation. While this eventually resulted in the franchise being sold to Minnesota-based interests, serious efforts to keep the team in Winnipeg were still ongoing during the 1995 off-season. Tkachuk, a restricted free agent at the time, requested a trade and made it clear he would not re-sign with Winnipeg under any circumstances. While the Jets attempted to negotiate a deal with several teams, a trade could not be finalized. While the then-new collective bargaining agreement allowed restricted free agents to negotiate directly with other teams, Tkachuk was initially reluctant to sign an
offer sheet since Winnipeg would have the right to match it. Eventually however, frustrated by the lack of progress in negotiations, the
Chicago Blackhawks persuaded Tkachuk to sign a front-loaded five-year
offer sheet worth
$17 million, with
$6 million due in the first season. However, to the disappointment of both the Blackhawks and Tkachuk, any assumption that the organization's poor financial situation would preclude them from meeting such obligations quickly proved incorrect as the Jets matched the offer sheet within six hours. Going up against the
Presidents' Trophy-winning
Detroit Red Wings, the Jets lost in six games, with Tkachuk scoring a goal and two assists in the series. After losing Game 6 by a score of 4–1, the final Jets game in the city of
Winnipeg before relocating to Phoenix, Tkachuk led the Jets in a final skate around
Winnipeg Arena in appreciation of the fans. After negotiations to move to Minnesota collapsed, the Jets relocated to Phoenix, Arizona, in 1996. Tkachuk moved with the team, remaining a member of the newly named
Phoenix Coyotes. He was also re-appointed captain, replacing Kris King. It was with Phoenix during the
1996–97 season that he had his career-best 52 goals, and made his first appearance in the
NHL All-Star Game. He also led the team in goals, points, power-play goals, game-winning goals and shots for the
1997–98 season, earning him his second-straight All-Star appearance. For the
1998–99 season, Tkachuk led the team in goals, power-play goals, game-winning goals, shots and plus-minus, and again was named to the All-Star Game. In 1997, Tkachuk appeared on the front cover of the video game ''
NHL Breakaway '98''. He is also a superstar in Gretzky ‘98 winning 2 BOARDS with Phoenix. During the 1998 Nagano Olympics, Tkachuk was also a central figure in the trashing of a hotel room. After struggling with injuries for the next two seasons, the Coyotes traded Tkachuk to the
St. Louis Blues in 2001 in exchange for
Ladislav Nagy,
Michal Handzuš,
Jeff Taffe and a first-round draft pick (
Ben Eager), where he was reunited with former teammate
Dallas Drake, who had signed a
free agent deal with the Blues in the summer of 2000. Tkachuk would leave the Coyotes ranking second in all-time goals (323) and first in penalty minutes (1,508), among other records.
St. Louis Blues (2001–2007) in 2008.|230px Tkachuk made an immediate impact on the Blues, scoring six goals and eight points in the final 12 games of the
2000–01 season. The Blues made it to the
Western Conference Final in the
playoffs that season, ultimately losing to the
Colorado Avalanche, the eventual
2001 Stanley Cup champions. Tkachuk experienced several injuries while playing with the Blues, and was briefly suspended by the team when he reported to training camp overweight, failing his physical at the beginning of the
2005–06 season.
Atlanta Thrashers (2007) On February 25, 2007, Tkachuk was traded to the
Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for
Glen Metropolit, a first-round pick in
2007, a third-round pick in 2007 and a second-round pick in
2008.
Return to St. Louis (2007–2010) On June 26 of the same year, St. Louis reacquired Tkachuk, along with a conditional fourth-round draft pick, in exchange for a conditional first-round pick in 2008. (If Tkachuk had re-signed with the Thrashers, the Blues would have acquired Atlanta's first-round pick in 2008.) Since the Blues acquired exclusive negotiating rights with Tkachuk and re-signed him to a two-year deal, Atlanta received a conditional fourth-round pick in 2008. Tkachuk signed a new, two-year contract with the Blues for $8 million on June 30. Upon re-signing, Tkachuk said of the Blues, "I see a lot of good things happening... They're going to be very active in making this a better hockey team." To help prove the Blues would be better, after signing Tkachuk, they signed left winger
Paul Kariya. Blues head coach
Andy Murray announced that he would try a line where Tkachuk would be centering with Kariya on left wing and
Brad Boyes on the right. On the last day of the
2007–08 regular season, April 6, Tkachuk scored his 500th NHL goal, a milestone only three other American-born players have achieved, as well as the 41st player to reach the milestone in NHL history. On November 30, 2008, Tkachuk scored goal number 511, giving him 1,000 NHL points for his career. He became only the sixth American, and 72nd overall, to achieve that milestone; it came in his 1,077th NHL game. He signed a one-year contract extension with the Blues on June 19, 2009. On April 7, 2010, Tkachuk announced that he would be retiring from hockey at the conclusion of the
2009–10 season. He played his final NHL game two nights later on April 9, 2010. ==Style of play and legacy==