Brady Tkachuk shockingly praises Maple Leafs after playoff battle

The Battle of Ontario was a stressful playoff series for those in Toronto and cheering on the Blue and White. And while the Toronto Maple Leafs came away with the series victory over the Ottawa Senators, months later the losing captain is still thinking about the series and how good the winners were.

In a guest appearance on the Leafs Morning Take podcast, Senators captain Brady Tkachuk reflected on the playoff series and went even as far to praise the Maple Leafs for the team they have constructed.

"They have such a great team," Tkachuk said. "We knew going into it that's probably the deepest team that they've had in the last couple years. We knew it was going to be a dog fight from the opening puck drop all the way to the final whistle. Of course, there's a lot of time this summer where you could say should've, could've, would've -- I mean Games 2, 3, and 4 all in overtime. Just a one-shot difference."

Thanks, Brady.

While sometimes you can hear hockey players try to be complementary to an opposing team, for the captain of the Ottawa Senators to say that the Toronto Maple Leafs, of all teams, are a great team, feels abnormal. Sure, we can't expect them to be so heated all the time and Tkachuk is probably loving his summer of enjoying his brother's success with the Florida Panthers, but there should at least be a little more vitriol.

Frankly, it would be the last thing you see on planet earth if the captain of the Maple Leafs appeared on a Senators podcast and started raving about how great the team from the nation's capital was. Just try to think of Auston Matthews going on whatever one of the top Senators podcasts is called, in the middle of his offseason, and then talk about how cool that team is and how great a player Tim Stutzle is or something. It would be weird!

The Senators will just always continue to be the Leafs' little brother. But, again, thanks Brady for the compliments.