The Ottawa Senators’ early first-round exit has quickly fueled offseason speculation surrounding the future of captain Brady Tkachuk.
With several teams reportedly monitoring the situation, trade rumors have taken over the conversation surrounding Ottawa heading into the summer. However, one NHL insider believes the Senators have no interest in moving on from the face of their franchise.
Senators Not Interested in Trading Brady Tkachuk
The trade speculation surrounding Brady Tkachuk intensified after the Ottawa Senators were swept by the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round, with Tkachuk going pointless throughout the series. Since then, multiple teams have been connected to the star winger, including the Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, and New York Rangers.
Boston is seemingly searching for more leadership and physical play after another disappointing playoff run, while Detroit is believed to be looking for added toughness and intensity, especially given Tkachuk’s chemistry with Dylan Larkin on Team USA.
The Rangers have also kept an eye on Tkachuk ever since missing the chance to draft him in 2018, seeing him as a player capable of changing the team’s identity after a difficult season.
Despite all the speculation, Darren Dreger downplayed the possibility of a trade. “I don’t think that the Senators have any appetite to explore anything other than continuing to work with and build around Tkachuk,” Dreger said.
Ottawa’s stance makes sense considering Tkachuk still has two years remaining on a team-friendly contract and also carries trade protection, making any potential move extremely difficult without his approval. Tkachuk himself has also pushed back on the rumors. During an emotional press conference on April 29, he admitted frustration over the constant speculation.
“I feel like I’ve answered this hundreds of times,” Tkachuk said. “Quite honestly, it’s just getting frustrating. It’s becoming a distraction… I have been fully committed to this team, to this city, and (the talk), it’s just become a distraction. Frustrating to deal with.”
Meanwhile, Steve Staios dismissed the trade chatter as “nonsense” during his end-of-season media availability and made it clear the organization has no interest in moving its captain. “We know what we have internally. We have great communication with our players, so we really don’t focus on it,” Staios said.
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The Ottawa Senators have several important decisions to make this offseason. But moving captain Brady Tkachuk doesn’t seem to be high on the list. The focus will instead be on adding a scoring punch and some help for Linus Ullmark.
