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[1ntheview]

THE FIRST TIME I SAW YOU

[paleotica]

mattdrai and mceichel being the top two worst rated ships on that fuckass poll because they are "queerbait".......my brother in christ it's all queerbait. these men are all married to or in serious long term relationships with women.

also people are using it as an excuse to shit on people who still like mattdrai. if you don't get the narratives then don't read them; but don't shit on people who do. "the people have always hated mattdrai!" you will never understand the lasting impact and legacy of mattdrai on the hrpf sphere. newgen hockey fans piss me the fuck off.

saying "they hardly interact!" and "there's no foundational basis to them!" there was enough for me to make a 30+ page slideshow with citations but that's unrelated. some of us like the idea of two players trying so desperately to keep whatever is between them under wraps and failing miserably at it. also yes they do hate each other, that's literally the whole fucking point bro. the entire mattdrai premise is "hate and love are actually not that different of feelings".

i know this post is mainly about mattdrai but a lot of these things also apply to mceichel. just say you dislike enemies to lovers tropes and move on with your life.

[paleotica]

MattDrai Fic Recommendations ca. 2026

Since the multiple waves of people deleting/publishing fics associated with mtkachuk and the brief mattdrai renaissance around the olympics I thought I would compile my favorite mattdrai fics that are still on AO3.

Generational Titles: THE mattdrai fics. If you like mattdrai you've likely heard of these or read them

slip under the tongue into translation (lighthousetowers) 🔒 (M, 32k) matthew learns german over the COVID season. (communication and flirting) head above water (yourblues) 🔒 (E, 91k) matthew and leon cannot communicate that they want each other, but they want each other desperately. (under-negotiated everything and tkachuk family feelings)

sanctuary (anonymous) 🔒 (E, 41k) matthew tkachuk disappears to an unlikely place after a career ending injury. (future fic and mtkachuk loves animals)

looking through you (nordalanche) 🔒 (E, 82k) matthew tkachuk gets traded to the edmonton oilers after an untimely incident with the calgary flames regarding his dynamic. (AU - BDSM and making mtkachuk have unprecedented amounts of trauma)

Fics I think should be Generational Titles: these fics are genuinely so good and i never hear anyone talking about them.

to the man that I am trying to be (hotshotitalian) 🔒 (E, 55k) matthew gets invited to connor's bachelor party on a cruise ship. (forced proximity and kinda sorta amnesia? drunken amnesia) makes you long to be magnificently cursed (puckthisshift) 🔒 (E, 65k) matthew gets cursed during the last day of the season, its just unfortunate that its to leon draisaitl. (forced proximity, magical realism, is it really a curse) mending fences (puckingtrash) 🔒 (E, 62k) the tkachuks and the draisaitls have been ranching rivals for generations, matthew and leon might be the deciding factor in this. (romeo & juliet, cowboys, genuinely heartbreaking)

Explicit - BDSM: you know it boys. we love our D/S mattdrai

if the knot's good and tight (puckthisshift) 🔒 (E, 28k) matthew walks into a kink club and sees the one person he did not want to see (changed me irrevocably, pro-dom ldraisaitl, mtkachuk chronic sub) took it as a taunt (keyshui) 🔒 (E, 8.7k) matthew and leon make a series of wagers involving WAG jackets (theyre both so incredibly freaky, possessiveness)

hate you prolifically (beedeviledeggs) 🔒 (E, 5.5k) matthew and leon find each other in a club after the st.louis all stars game (not explicitly D/S but matthew bratting so hard I think it counts)

put your money where your mouth is (thefangirlingdead) 🔒 (E, 15k) matthew and leon are in charge of planning brady and tim's bachelor party (again not explicitly D/S but there are definite undertones, possessiveness and teasing hardcore)

this is his party (bilvaye) 🔒 (E, 3k) E11even is definitely the place to tease your boyfriend who just lost the stanley cup final. against you. (ldraisaitl being desperate about his boyfriend)

honorary mention for my favorite mattdrai fic ever written that was unfortunately deleted from ao3 (i have the epub thank god) Irresistible Force, Immovable Object by StarDeluxe.

Explicit - A/B/O: omegaverse. that's all

muscle memory (eyeslikeonyx) 🔒 (E, 8.7k) leon gets traded to the panthers after his contract expires. matthew wonders why he is in florida of all places. (second chances, ldraisaitl is so down terrible)

sea change (andthreequarts) 🔒 (E, 33k) matthew doesnt smell like anything. and doesnt that just drive leon crazy (absolute freakishness, still in calgary)

linger (bropunzeling) 🔒 (E, 65k) unfortunately matthew keeps going into heat against the oilers. for no reason specifically at all. (please respect/read authors note, angsty lack of communication)

so is the longing (dogjuice) 🔒 (E, 44k) matthew is traded to the edmonton oilers for a dynamic mishap on the flames. he's also incredibly fucking stupid (horrible heats/heat disorders, matthew is like insane amounts of dense)

Bonus - Transmasc MTkachuk: this is a narrative i've been on for at least 3 years now. there are a total of 2 fics on ao3 with this

get lost in you (hotshotitalian) 🔒 (E, 5.6k) foreplay is revealing that youre afab to your rival in the middle of the game and watching him freak out (munch ldraisaitl and canon-typical nut-shots)

hey man, is that toxic yaoi in your pocket or are you just happy to see me? (anonymous) 🔒 (E, 5.7k) they're both transgender and theyre both freaks (munch ldraisaitl, facesitting, i screamed when i saw this uploaded ngl)

[rattdrai]

man this shit is so much fun