Keith Tkachuk responds to rumors of Brady Tkachuk trade.

In spite of the fact that he has signed a long-term contract extension and has been named captain of the Ottawa Senators, rumors of a potential trade involving forward Brady Tkachuk have refused to die down around the National Hockey League.

Brady has established himself as one of the most important players, if not the most important, to a young and developing Ottawa Senators roster and for that reason it makes a great deal of sense that other teams around the NHL would seek to acquire him. While it may make sense from the perspective of opposing teams it makes no sense from the perspective of the Ottawa Senators, and now a very loud and powerful voice on this topic is speaking out to make it clear that it doesn't make any sense for Brady either.

Recently, Brady's father, former NHL star Keith Tkachuk, spoke to the Ottawa Citizen and made it clear that his son has absolutely no intention of being traded anytime soon.

"But Brady loves it there," said Keith to the Ottawa Citizen. "Brady has cemented himself in the community. They’re a team on the rise. They got a great bunch of young players. They’re core players. The fans and the city itself treat him so well. He wants to be a big part of that moving forward. So I don’t think he’s going anywhere.”

As for the rumors that refuse to die? Well the patriarch of the Tkachuk family had a pretty good theory about why that might be the case as well. Keith pointed to the fact that Brady's brother, Florida Panthers star forward Matthew Tkachuk, being traded by the Calgary Flames might be influencing the current rumors around his other son.

"I wouldn’t believe everything you hear," said Keith. "I think after what happened with Matthew in Calgary, everyone just assumes that’s going to happen with Brady."

No one would know better than the man who has clearly put his two sons down the path of NHL success, and quite frankly it makes a ton of sense on its own merit as well. If Brady were to reach his ultimate goal of winning a Stanley Cup with the Ottawa Senators, he could boast something that no other member of his family currently has on their resume. He would become the very first Tkachuk to hoist the Stanley Cup as an NHL captain.