Keith Yandle rips Senators fans for booing Brady Tkachuk's tribute, sparking an on air clash
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Keith Yandle called Senators fans disgusting for booing Brady Tkachuk's tribute video, and Paul Bissonnette told him to shut up on Spittin' Chiclets.
Keith Yandle is not happy with how Ottawa treated Brady Tkachuk on Wednesday night.
The former NHL defenseman said on Spittin' Chiclets that Senators fans went too far by booing the tribute video for their old captain, and Paul Bissonnette quickly told him to shut up.
Yandle is close with the Tkachuk family, so his stance is not a shock.
He called it ugly that the crowd booed while the video played on TV.
Bissonnette disagreed, and Ryan Whitney did not take his side either.
Why the tribute video got booed
Tkachuk spent eight seasons in Ottawa, five of them as captain, after Ottawa picked him fourth overall in 2018.
The Senators traded him to Florida in June for four draft picks, including three first-rounders.
Plenty of fans never forgave the way it ended, so a thank you video was always going to be risky.
The crowd booed the whole clip, and Tkachuk answered with a big smile and a raised stick.
Yandle is in the minority here.
When a team honors a player who left on bad terms, the fans get a vote too, and Ottawa used it loudly.
The Tim Stutzle dinner twist
There was a side story too.
Tkachuk had dinner with several former teammates on Tuesday, and Tim Stutzle skipped it, explaining that he has a chef at home.
Yandle read that as a polite way of saying he was never invited.
Whitney added that the two were once close, so the chill is hard to miss.
On the ice, Ottawa beat Florida 5-1 on Wednesday, and Tkachuk scored first before Stutzle tied it on the power play.
Both clubs came back to earth Thursday, with the Senators losing 6-2 to San Jose and the Panthers falling 4-0 in Pittsburgh.
They meet again November 25 in Florida.
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