The Senators’ locker room reportedly pushed for Brady Tkachuk’s departure

Vincent Larue
The Senators’ locker room reportedly pushed for Brady Tkachuk’s departure
Credit: X

The trade of Brady Tkachuk to the Panthers has already generated a lot of buzz, even though it happened just a few hours ago.

The fact that Ottawa agreed to send its captain to a division rival was surprising enough in itself. However, the information reported by Renaud Lavoie sheds more light on why the Senators made this decision.

According to his report, the pressure to trade Tkachuk didn't come solely from outside the organization. Some of that pressure also reportedly came directly from the Senators' locker room.

This is probably the most striking aspect of this whole story.

We're not talking about a veteran at the end of his career or a role player. We're talking about the face of the Sens' rebuild, the captain who was supposed to lead the team toward better days after several difficult seasons.

Naturally, this adds another dimension to the trade.

For the past few years, the Senators finally seemed ready to turn the corner. The arrival of a new owner, key acquisitions, and the development of young players suggested the club was on the right track.

Ultimately, the project seems to have derailed.

The captain's departure, the revelations about the locker room, and the fact that the team agreed to trade him to an Atlantic Division team—even if it was to join his brother—give the impression that we're witnessing the collapse of a rebuild that once held so much promise.

That doesn't necessarily mean Ottawa is embarking on a major overhaul.

The Senators now hold the No. 9, 25, and 32 picks in Friday's draft, in addition to a first-round pick in 2029 and a second-round pick in 2030 acquired in the trade.

Nicolas Cloutier was quick to point out that we shouldn't be surprised to see the organization use some of these assets to improve its team, since they didn't acquire any players in the trade.

Especially since the Senators also have about $25M in cap space. Marco D'Amico has reported that Ottawa would be willing to sacrifice a significant portion of its new cap space in an attempt to acquire Jason Robertson. The draft picks acquired in the Tkachuk trade could therefore be used much sooner than expected.

After all, accumulating draft picks is one thing. Turning them into players who can help right away is another.

One thing seems certain today. If players in the locker room truly wanted to move on from Brady Tkachuk, there must have been more rifts within the Senators than we realized. The trade of their captain may be just the beginning of a turbulent summer in Canada's capital.


In a Nutshell

– Other interested teams.

– Stay tuned.

– A busy summer for the Habs?

– That's true.

facebook icon Share twitter icon Tweet linkedin icon Share
Copied!