The Cover Curse Has Claimed the Sens
Written by: Tyler Beauchesne
Do you believe in ghost stories? I have one to share today in the form of a cursed video game cover.
Yes I do believe in the EA cover curse.
Allow me to share the tale of the Little Mermaid, where Ariel made a wish to Ursula to become human. Ursula granted that wish, but with the trade-off being that Ariel would lose her voice in the process. A curse that was wrapped in the form of a gift.
For years, Sens fans wanted better media representation as we felt we were not getting the proper coverage compared to another team from across the province, in Toronto.
“We are finally a playoff team!”, we chanted, as we were hoping that now that the team was good again, we would get the recognition and success that we felt we deserved. Alas, our wishes would be answered as on August 4, 2025, it was announced that our Captain, Brady Tkachuk, would take on the role as an EA Sports cover athlete alongside his brother Matthew and his dad, Keith, for NHL 26. A majority of fans celebrated this as they felt the Sens were finally getting the media recognition they deserved.
However, I felt something sinister in the water.
I consider myself a superstitious guy if we are being honest. Every time my sports team wins, I would often wear my jersey for the rest of the night, and then the next day in hopes that creates a win streak. There are certain words that I refrain from saying such as shutout or hat-trick watch in hopes that I do not jinx the outcome. I am a full believer in the EA cover curse, and when the news dropped that Brady was on the deluxe cover, I was terrified.
On Monday against the Nashville Predators, Brady Tkachuk suffered a wrist injury that will require surgery. He will be out for six to eight weeks at the very minimum, which will be costly towards the Sens and how they do in this stretch of games. It is very unfortunate to have this happen at the start of the year, as I wish Brady a speedy recovery and comes back stronger than ever on the ice.
The curse is as follows: If a player makes the cover, they either have a catastrophic year personally, lose early in the playoffs, or get injured. It has happened to many, and the Tkachuks are no exception, as both suffered massive injuries that put them out for months.
“But Tyler, that curse does not cover the deluxe edition!” Silence doubter, for a curse does not take exceptions through such additions!
Let me break down the last five covers to prove the point:
NHL 25: Hughes brothers (All got injured long-term)
NHL 24: Cale Makar (Lost in the second round to the Stars)
NHL 23: Trevor Zegras and Sarah Nurse (Both got injured long-term that year)
NHL 22: Auston Matthews (first-round exit to the Lightning)
NHL 21: Alex Ovechkin (first-round exit to the Bruins)
This just cannot be a coincidence to me, this is a pattern. “But most teams lose in the playoffs, Tyler”.
Well yes but notice how the cover athletes either face a long-term injury or an early playoff exit. Coincidence, I THINK NOT! Yes I am blaming what happened to Brady on a superstition, I am aware I sound crazy but when has that ever stopped me before.
Now this is not me taking a victory lap over this topic because I wanted to be wrong. I think any fan who roots for their own non-rebuilding team to suffer over these little things are miserable and dumb. I did not want this to happen to the Sens, I want the Sens to have a fully healthy lineup and go deep into the playoffs.
Unfortunately, I think I was right on the money here and this fleeting moment of recognition came at the cost of one of our key contributors. This does nothing but make me sad, I take zero pride in being right.
The cover was a curse wrapped as a gift. All it does is ruins the players and teams it chooses to claim. For as long as I live I never want to see another current Senator grace the cover ever again. It brings nothing but bad fortune and vibes to whatever team it touches.
Yes there are some outliers to this curse in the past but all curses have some who are able to escape, however the Sens were unfortunately not apart of that.
While I still have faith in the season, the Sens need to fight back in this next stretch so that our captain can come back to a true playoff contender and bring back the vibes of making the playoffs last year.
