"This is not soccer" - P.K. Subban makes his thoughts on Brady Tkachuk's criticism crystal clear

Brady Tkachuk has been the subject of intense criticism this season for various reasons. It caught the attention of P.K. Subban, a former hockey player who knows all too well what it's like to be criticized by fans and media. In this case, Subban believes the criticism is unwarranted.

Tkachuk has been under fire for many things, including his penalty minutes. Subban called it "pathetic and wrong" in an Instagram post where he said:

"Which guy checks as many boxes as him? This guy is a monster: skill, speed, size, strength, leadership, and he's 25 years old... He's trying to pull a team that's at the bottom of the barrel that has been sitting there for years."

Subban continued to say that Ottawa Senators fans ought to roll out the red carpet for Tkachuk. He went on:

"The only way to do that is not to skill your way out of the bottom of the barrel. No, that's not going to cut it. You got skill, you gotta fight and claw. You gotta bring energy. You gotta bring passion. Knees gotta be bent, froth coming out of the mouth... There's an absolute war going on on the ice. This is not tap-dancing. This is not ballet. This is not soccer."

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Brady Tkachuk responds with stellar game following criticism

P.K. Subban is not the only one who's seen the criticism of Brady Tkachuk. The player himself has seen some of it, but he has ignored a lot of it. He also responded with a huge performance in a win over the Calgary Flames.

Brady Tkachuk bounced back last time out (Imagn)

It broke a five-game losing streak and saw a goal and an assist from Tkachuk, who said via TSN:

“I just want to give my blood, sweat and tears to the guys in this room. And that's what I feel like I do and pride myself on: giving absolutely everything I have for this team and for this group.

He said he tries to keep clear of criticism from fans and media:

"I’ve kind of been just focused on the here and now and my teammates. And to be honest, I just care about winning here and just giving absolutely everything I have for this team.”

This came one game after Tkachuk recorded 21 penalty minutes in a game against the Vancouver Canucks.