OTTAWA — Was Brady Tkachuk asking out of Ottawa to play in Florida with his brother Matthew inevitable?
It sure feels like it in retrospect.
On Father’s Day, the Senators lost their torchbearer as Brady Tkachuk was sent to the Florida Panthers for the ninth and 25th picks in this year’s draft, a conditional 2029 first-rounder and a 2027 second-round pick.
Ottawa has become the place where captains more often ask out than seek to finish out their contracts.
The Senators have had five captains since 1998. Four of them asked to be traded, with only Daniel Alfredsson staying through the prime of his career. But even Alfredsson decided to finish his career elsewhere.
For a long time it seemed like Tkachuk might follow Alfredsson’s path, but it was not meant to be. Franchises tend not to recover easily after trading a centrepiece and a superstar. It can take years, it can remove them from a competitive window.
It, inevitably, creates a new path.
The timeline for the Senators to become a contender has changed: it’s not the next two years with Tkachuk, but the next five with Tim Stutzle and Jake Sanderson signed to long-term, cap-friendly contracts until 2031 and 2032.
The Senators have three first-round picks in Friday’s draft, tied with St. Louis for most in the league. They would be prudent to consider making a pick at ninth overall and adding a prospect of strong calibre to one of the worst farm systems in the league. However, GM Steve Staios will show which direction the Senators will head as he navigates the draft and free agency.
Starting with the picks he’s acquired (the Senators cannot trade the reinstated 32nd overall pick), Ottawa could enter trade bidding wars for Robert Thomas, Matthew Knies, Mason McTavish, or any available scorer in their prime. Even Jason Robertson, should it come with an extension. In an extreme case, an offer sheet could be an option.
According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, there is “no doubt Ottawa, which is trying to contend, will use these picks to try and immediately improve itself.”
There won’t be a strong group of UFAs this summer, but the Senators now have $25 million in cap space to play with and assets to make moves in the trade market.
But there might be a domino effect from Tkachuk leaving.
Will Drake Batherson and Artem Zub (free agents next season) want to stay long-term in Ottawa now? What about RFA Jordan Spence? Claude Giroux is days away from becoming a UFA, will he re-sign here or choose another team he thinks he can go after a Cup with?
Staios had limited options because of Tkachuk’s no-trade clause. According to Friedman, Tkachuk submitted a four-team list of places he was willing to go, which included Carolina, Vegas, Minnesota and Florida, but that “it became clear the preference was alongside Matthew in South Florida.” In context, Staios grades very well in acquiring the picks he did.
If Ottawa had won earlier in his tenure, we might not be here. The team’s previous owner and GM wasted precious years of Tkachuk’s prime by not providing enough good secondary talent to surround him. But new owner Michael Andlauer and Staios had reversed many poor decisions of the old regime and created a very good and competitive team for Tkachuk.
So, his decision to leave Ottawa now – when they looked like a contender on the upswing – will invite a tsunami of vitriol from the nation’s capital. Imagine the reception for his first game back next season, which we suspect will have more boos than cheers.
Tkachuk’s time with the Senators ends with two playoff wins and a tattered legacy.
Behind the scenes, you cannot find anyone who would say one bad thing about Tkachuk, the person. He did plenty of charity work in the community.
But this sudden shock to the fan base will be difficult to accept. However, looking back, the result shouldn’t be so surprising.
Rumours had followed Tkachuk for some time, including two seasons ago when talk about the Rangers heated up.
After the 2026 Olympics ended, Tkachuk admitted it was challenging to bounce back, and it showed during Ottawa’s playoff push.
What made Tkachuk beloved by some Sens fans was his fiery personality, fighting spirit and enthusiasm for hockey. A heart-and-soul player on and off the ice. But he was held pointless in the playoffs this year and his ‘it’ factor was noticeably absent, despite his attempts to rejuvenate enthusiasm through fighting.
What we can’t underestimate is that the Tkachuk brothers played together at the 4 Nations and Olympics, representing the United States against the backdrop of the most strained Canadian-American relations in our lifetimes. While Matthew enjoyed a glorious return to Florida after winning Olympic gold, Brady returned to Ottawa with questions about the Americans’ dressing-room celebration and their reception from the President.
There are surely many reasons to explain Tkachuk’s exit from Ottawa, which we expect him to discuss on the Wingman Podcast that he and brother Matthew started this season. Perhaps that’s where embittered Sens fans can search for closure.
In the end, the Senators are worse off after the trade and we feel for the fans who had waited years and now hoped for joy that seemed within reach, only for another captain to exit for the south.
However there is still hope that they come out the other side of July 1 looking like a brand new challenger, still on the rise.