Keith Tkachuk

Hockey Player

Keith Tkachuk was born in Melrose, Massachusetts, United States on March 28th, 1972 and is the Hockey Player. At the age of 52, Keith Tkachuk biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.

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Other Names / Nick Names
Keith Matthew Tkachuk
Date of Birth
March 28, 1972
Nationality
United States
Place of Birth
Melrose, Massachusetts, United States
Age
52 years old
Zodiac Sign
Aries
Networth
$50 Million
Profession
Ice Hockey Player
Keith Tkachuk Height, Weight, Eye Color and Hair Color

At 52 years old, Keith Tkachuk has this physical status:

Height
188cm
Weight
106.6kg
Hair Color
Not Available
Eye Color
Not Available
Build
Athletic
Measurements
Not Available
Keith Tkachuk Religion, Education, and Hobbies
Religion
Not Available
Hobbies
Not Available
Education
Not Available
Keith Tkachuk Spouse(s), Children, Affair, Parents, and Family
Spouse(s)
Not Available
Children
Not Available
Dating / Affair
Not Available
Parents
Not Available
Keith Tkachuk Life

Keith Matthew Tkachachuk (born March 28, 1972) is an American former professional ice hockey player who competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 19 years, including the Winnipeg Jets, Phoenix Coyotes, St. Louis Blues, and Atlanta Thrashers, retiring in 2010.

Matthew and Brady, his sons, play for the Calgary Flames and the Ottawa Senators, respectively.

He is one of five American-born players to score 500 goals and become the sixth American player to score 1,000 points.

He is regarded as one of the best-born players in NHL history.

Personal life

Tkachachuk has been married to Chantal Oster, who lived in Winnipeg since February 28, 1997, and has three children: Matthew, Brady, and Taryn. He is still a fan favorite in St. Louis and is an investor in KFNS, a sports talk radio station (KFNS, 590 AM, St. Louis MO). He is an assistant coach for the St. Louis Blues Peewee AAA hockey team.

Tkachachuk is an Irishman on his mother's side and is a cousin of New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald, with whom he grew up. Tkachuk seemed uncertain about the derivation of his Ukrainian surname, implying that it may be "Polish, Russian, [or] Ukrainian, one of those." He is also cousins with brothers Jimmy and Kevin Hayes, the former being a Philadelphia Flyers player and the former an NHL player who died on August 23, 2021.

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Keith Tkachuk Career

Playing career

Tkachachuk, a native of East Boston, was born at the Melrose/Wakefield Hospital in Melrose, Massachusetts, and played high school hockey at Malden Catholic High School in Malden, Massachusetts. Tkachachuk spent one season as 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 trade that took Dale Hawerchuk and Buffalo. In his career, Tkachachuk served as both a center, left winger, and right winger.

Tkachuk has earned the nickname "Walt" (given to him by Eddie Olczyk), perhaps in reference to Walter Tkaczuk, a famed center who appeared for the New York Rangers from 1967 to 1981. The two players' names are pronounced the same, but they are not pronounced differently (both being the Polish and English transliterations of the Ukrainian word "каук"), and the two players are not related to each other). With his solid play in front of the net, St. Louis Blues broadcasters and followers dubbed Tkachachuk "Big Walt" after his heroic effort against opposing defensemen.

Tkachuk made his NHL debut against the Vancouver Canucks on February 28, 1992, just days after the 1992 Winter Olympics ended. He will end the season with the Jets, scoring eight points in 17 games. In the Stanley Cup playoffs last year, he scored three goals in seven games. Tkachachuk's official debut year was 1992–93. 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.

Tkachachuk joined the team captain of the Philadelphia Flyers in November 3, 1993, just two weeks after winning his first hat-trick against the Philadelphia Flyers. Including leading the Jets in goals (41), points (81) and power-play (22). Tkachachuk earned all-star second-team recognition and second on the Jets in points scored during the 1994–95 season, which was shortened due to a labor lockout.

Tkachachuk, a restricted free agent at the time, signed a five-year contract sheet worth $17 million, a six-figure number in the Chicago Blackhawks' first season, with $6 million coming in the first season. Despite the Jets' imminent relocation to Phoenix, Arizona, and the company's poor financial situation, the Jets matched the offer-sheet within six hours. As a result, Tkachachuk was stripped of the captaincy and replaced by Kris King, but the closest he has come to touching a 100-point plateau was 98 points. In power play goals (20), game-winning goals (6), shots (249) and plus-minus rating (+11), Tkachachuk led the Jets in power play goals (20), game-winning goals (19), and plus-minus rating (+11).

The Jets lost in six games against the President's Trophy-winning Detroit Red Wings, with Tkachuk scoring a goal and two assists in the series. The Jets lost Game 6 by a score of 4–1, but Tkachuk led the Jets in the final skate around Winnipeg Arena in honor of the fans.

In 1996, the Jets moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where Tkachachuk served as a member of the recently named Phoenix Coyotes and was re-appointed captain, replacing Kris King. He made his career-best 52 goals during the 1996-97 season with Phoenix, making his first appearance in the NHL All-Star Game for the first time. In the 1997–98 season, he was also involved in goals, points, power-play goals, game-winning goals, and shots, earning him his second-straight All-Star appearance. Tkachachuk led the team in goals, power-play goals, game-winning goals, shots, and plus-minus for the 1998–99 season, and he was also selected to the All-Star Game. Tkachuk appeared on the front page of the 1997 video game NHL Breakaway '98.

In 2001, the Coyotes traded Tkachachuk to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Ladislav Nagy, Michal Handzu, Jeff Taffe, and a first-round draft pick (Ben Eager), where the team reunited with former teammate Dallas Drake, who had signed a free agent contract with the Blues in the summer of 2000, after struggling with injuries for the next two seasons. Among other statistics, Tkachachuk would put the Coyotes in second place in all-time goals (343), and first in penalty minutes (1,508).

In the final 12 games of the 2000-01 season, Tkachachuk made an immediate impact on the Blues, scoring six goals and eight points. In the playoffs, the Blues made it to the Western Conference Finals, losing to the Colorado Avalanche, the eventual 2001 Stanley Cup champions. While playing with the Blues, Tkachachuk sustained multiple injuries and was briefly suspended by the team when he returned to training camp overweight, despite his physical health problems in the 2005–06 season.

Tkachuk was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for Glen Metropolit, a first-round pick in 2007, and a second-round pick in 2008.

St. Louis recalled Tkachuk, as well as a conditional fourth-round draft pick in 2008, in exchange for a conditional first-round pick. (If Tkachachuk had re-signed with the Thrashers, the Blues may have gotten Atlanta's first-round pick in 2008.) Since the Blues acquired exclusive negotiation rights with Tkachuk and re-signed him to a two-year contract, Atlanta obtained a conditional fourth-round pick in 2008. On June 30, Tkachachuk agreed to a new, two-year deal with the Blues. "I see a lot of good things happening" in the Blues re-signing, Tkachachuk said. They're going to be very active in making this a better hockey team." The Blues signed left winger Paul Kariya to help prove that the Blues will be better after signing Tkachuk. Andy Murray, the Blues, said he'd like to try a line where Tkachachuk will be centering Kariya on the left wing and Brad Boyes on the right.

On the last day of the 2007-08 regular season, Tkachachuk scored his 500th NHL goal, a feat that only three other American-born players have achieved, as well as the 41st player to reach the landmark in NHL history.

Tkachachuk scored goal number 511 on November 30, 2008, giving him 1,000 NHL points for his career. He was only the sixth American and 72nd overall to reach the milestone; he played in his 1,077th NHL game. On June 19, 2009, he signed a one-year deal with the Blues. Tkachuk announced on April 7, 2010, that he would be out of hockey at the end of the 2009–10 season. On April 9, 2010, he appeared in his final NHL game two nights later.

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