The 54-year-old also received a promotion, rising to adviser to the president of hockey operations of the St. Louis Blues, while continuing to help USA Hockey select the roster for the IIHF World Junior Championship.
And so, instead of celebrating in the sunshine somewhere, he sat in the stands at WFCU Center on Monday scouting the World Junior Summer Showcase, a tournament featuring prospects from Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States.
“There’s something about being on a team that’ll never change,” Tkachuk said. “I got a few years off after retiring. The easiest thing to do is sit in Florida or St. Louis and hang out and play golf, but I love being around the guys. I want to help our organization.”
Tkachuk was one of hockey’s premier power forwards from 1991-2010 when he played for the Blues, Winnipeg Jets, Phoenix Coyotes and Atlanta Thrashers.
He scored 538 goals in the NHL, second behind Mike Modano (561) among players born in the United States, and helped the U.S. win the 1996 World Cup of Hockey. That was the last best-on-best tournament the U.S. won until Brady and Matthew helped their country win Olympic gold in February.
When he received the call from the Hall of Fame on June 22, he was shocked.
He still is.
“Obviously, it was one of the biggest highlights of my life,” he said. “It was awesome. I was really pumped to tell the family but also tell my mom. Just to see her reaction made it all worthwhile. It really was. It was so cool. I’m proud. It’s the people around who got you there that you’re happy for.”
Tkachuk said the hardest part is thanking everyone. He received about 800 text messages after the news broke, and he must prepare a speech for the induction ceremony in Toronto on Nov. 9.
As for the party, his wife, Chantal, will be in charge of that.
“The Tkachuks know how to throw a party,” he said. “That’s for sure.”
He smiled.
“It really hasn’t sunk in,” he said. “It really hasn’t. Once hockey season starts, once we get back into training camp and it gets closer, before you know it it’ll be right here.”
The Blues announced a series of promotions and new hires July 1, a day after Doug Armstrong rose to president of hockey operations and Alexander Steen took over as general manager. Tkachuk had been an amateur scout from 2014-18 and director of recruitment since 2019.
“I really like what I do with the amateur side,” he said. “I don’t think it’s going to change much. I love the St. Louis Blues. I want to see us compete for a Stanley Cup. We have a good management team. … Doug obviously has all the experience in the world. Any time you can get close to him and learn from him, I think it’ll help not only me, but it’ll help our organization.”
