It’s that time of year again, when a handful of teams are still battling it out in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, while the rest of the pack go back to the drawing board. Brady Tkachuk’s Ottawa Senators belong to the latter club.
After being bounced out of the playoffs in a first-round sweep at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes (who also swept the Philadelphia Flyers in the semifinals), the Senators clearly have some work to do. But whether that work involves the ‘Tkaptain’ himself remains to be seen.
Former Panthers HC Links Florida With Blockbuster Brady Tkachuk Trade
It didn’t take all that long for trade rumors to engulf the future of Brady Tkachuk after Carolina got the brooms out for Ottawa. The Senators’ captain was forced to address the speculation himself in his exit interview.
“I feel like I’ve said it, I don’t even know, like a hundred times at this point, that I mean, I’ve never said it, team’s never said it. I’ve always believed in this team, I’ve always believed in playing for this city, and this city’s always been good to me,” a frustrated Tkachuk said.
The 26-year-old forward also addressed the timeline of negotiations for an extension with the franchise. “The extension talk, it’s a year away, so that’s something that you physically can’t even do anytime soon.”
But the trade rumor mill works overtime around these parts.
Doug MacLean, former head coach of the Florida Panthers, made an appearance on the Real Kyper & Bourne show this week and gave his two cents on the whole Brady Tkachuk situation, while also fanning some trade rumors around the Senators star.
“Think about this. Everybody’s trying to get in the top 10. Florida has the 9th pick in the draft. Where is Brady Tkachuk gonna wanna go?” MacLean pointed out on the podcast.
“Florida will never have another top 10 pick for two or three years. This is the time when you’ve gotta move on Florida. You pick up a couple of quality players. You pick up the 9th pick.
“You know Brady wants to go to Florida, you know he’s gonna probably go there within two years. Two years is the magic number. I wouldn’t be surprised if Brady Tkachuk is in Florida.”
MacLean bookended that quote by adding that he’s not a rumor guy, but stood steadfast in his belief that this would be the best time for the Panthers to swing a blockbuster trade for Matthew Tkachuk’s brother.
Per multiple reports, the Panthers appear willing to do business when it comes to the 9th overall pick in this year’s draft. They also have some interesting free agency decisions to make, especially regarding the future of Sergei Bobrovsky, the man who held the crease during the team’s march to two straight Stanley Cup wins.
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However, the Panthers could very well clear up some cap space for a man of Brady Tkachuk’s caliber, not to mention the fact that a seismic move like this would extend the Panthers’ contention window for the next 5-6 years.
As things stand, the Senators and Tkachuk have had their end-of-season sitdown, and Ottawa has given no signals that it plans on entertaining any offer for the face of the franchise. Tkachuk himself has a full no-move clause, giving him complete control over his future, though that will hardly be a factor if Florida comes calling.
