Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk recently shared a humorous story about a prank that did not go as planned. In his new book, _Certified Beauties_, released on Tuesday, Tkachuk recounted an incident involving alternate captain Claude Giroux that took place a couple of years ago. The prank involved Tkachuk cutting Giroux's hockey sticks before a game against the St. Louis Blues, but it ended up causing more trouble than laughs.

A promotional video for the book, shared on social media, shows Giroux breaking his stick while trying to exit the Ottawa zone during the game. He then broke a second stick on the same shift. Legendary broadcaster Gord Miller commented during the highlight, saying, "Claude Giroux needs some new twigs." Former NHL goalie Jamie McLennan added, "He’s going to grab a new stick, bat one out of the air in the neutral zone and break it again."

Tkachuk had intended for Giroux to use a set of three sticks that he had intentionally cut to break during practice. However, he forgot to replace them before the game. Initially, Giroux thought the sticks had been tampered with by St. Louis defenseman Brayden Schenn, a former teammate. "Well, when it happened, I thought it was the other team. I remember we were playing St. Louis and I thought it was Brayden Schenn. I just started yelling at him, thinking it was him," Giroux recalled with a smile.

After the incident, Tkachuk informed the Senators' equipment managers to remove Giroux's third stick from the rack to prevent further mishaps. Giroux later learned the truth from Tkachuk, who was sitting beside him on the bench during the game. "Brady was beside me on the bench when I was yelling (at Schenn) and he told me it was him. I didn’t believe him at the time," Giroux said.

Despite the initial frustration, Giroux and Tkachuk were able to laugh about the prank months later. Tkachuk, who is currently sidelined for six to eight weeks due to thumb surgery, reflected on the incident during an interview. "I got the silent treatment," he said. "I’m very lucky that we won that game because after the first period, I tried talking to him and it was like I was invisible."

Giroux acknowledged that while the prank was clever, it was poorly timed. "It’s a good prank, but gone wrong, obviously," he said. "He was trying to get me for practice, so he cut my sticks, and then he forgot about it, and then went on to the game. And, he wouldn’t do that for a game because that’s not really a funny prank, but during practice, it would have been hilarious."

Tkachuk noted that Giroux has not forgotten the incident and is planning to get back at him one day. The story adds to the lighthearted atmosphere typical in NHL locker rooms, where pranks are common. Duthie's book also includes other entertaining anecdotes, including a famous brawl involving former Sabres goaltender Martin Biron and late Ottawa goalie Ray Emery in 2007. Duthie was in town for the Senators' game against the Flyers to promote his book and sign copies for fans.