The Senators reportedly pondering trade captain Brady Tkachuk
The Ottawa Senators have reportedly "kicked tires" with teams about the potential return if they ever opted to move on from team captain Brady Tkachuk.
Tkachuk was once thought of a centerpiece for the Senators to build their core around. Drafted fourth overall in the 2018 draft, he quickly became the face of the franchise due to his hard-nosed on-ice play and the volume of shots he takes. He also became one of the most hated players by other fan bases due to his ability to get under the skin of his opponents. Tkachuk was named captain of the Senators in November of 2021, less than a month after he signed a 7-year extension with the club after a very public set of negotiations. His deal carries a cap hit of $8.2M per season until the end of 2027-2028 season.
Recent on-ice incidents and off-ice comments could lead to him being traded
Saturday night, New Jersey Devils captain Nico Hischier guided the puck into the Ottawa Senators' empty net as time expired in the Devils win. Tkachuk took exception to the play and chased down Hischier and attempted to fight him and Devils defenseman Brendan Smith. Needless to say, Leaf fans had a grand old time on social media calling Tkachuk a hypocrite after his comments about teammate Ridly Grieg shooting the puck into the Leafs' empty net at the end of a game in February.
Ahead of the trade deadline, rumours swirled that the Senators were looking to trade Tkachuk, but a week before the deadline, Senators President and current General Manager Steve Staios vehemently denied the reports.
On a recent episode of "The Cam and Strick" podcast, however, Blues reporter Andy Strickland reported that the Senators have started to explore the possibility of trading him once again.
It would be an absolute shock if the Senators did trade Tkachuk, but with them continuously floundering in the regular season and Tkachuk often being very public with his frustrations, trading him may be the only option to reset the "identity" of the team and change the culture in the room.
There's probably not a very good chance that such a deal will materialize for the Sens and that their curiosity in wanting to gauge the market to see what rival GM's believe he's worth is just that - curiosity. Still, a trade like that would definitely shock the hockey world if it does go down this summer.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 12 | 351 ANSWERS The Senators reportedly pondering trade captain Brady Tkachuk Will the Senators trade Tkachuk in the off-season? | ||
| Yes, they need a change | 194 | 55.3 % |
| No, but they should take the captaincy away | 157 | 44.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
