Senators address Brady Tkachuk trade rumours after he landed on the block!
What a mess.
HockeyFeed
It started with a comment, a gut feeling, turned into a rumour that has taken a life of its own. A few days ago, former NHL defenseman and now co-host of the Spittin Chiclets podcast Ryan Whitney wondered if Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk could end up elsewhere after the deadline. This then prompted Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports to wonder if Tkachuk’s father, Keith, could be the one providing the information due to his connection to the St. Louis Blues, who are also looking at making significant deals on the market.
When this buzz surfaced, I admitted that I’d be stunned if Senators general manager Steve Staois were to start from scratch and and move the heart and soul of the organization in Tkachuk…
The GM must have had enough of all the chatter and questions, because he told insiders Pierre LeBrun and Ryan Rishaug there was no truth to social media rumors claiming his captain was on the trade block
“That could not be further from the truth,” said Staios to TSN. “There’s obviously no truth to that. We’re building this team around Brady Tkachuk and the type of person, player, and leader that he is. He means everything to the organization and he brings it every night along with our core group of players.”
I understand why Staois wanted to address the speculations with the hopes of putting a stop to them, however, with just a week to go until the March 8 trade deadline, fans and pundits are going to dream big for their favourite club.
Tkachuk is signed through the 2027-28 season at a cap hit of $8.21 million. He leads his Sens with 26 goals and has 50 points in 57 games, along with a team-high 104 penalty minutes this season.
In the meantime, the Senators are receiving calls on defenseman Jakob Chychrun and forward Vladimir Tarasenko. The latter holds no-trade clause in his one-year contract and is looking to be moved to a contender, like he was when the St. Louis Blues shipped him to the New York Rangers last trade deadline. It has been reported that the Senators are seeking “at least a second-round pick and a prospect” in return for Tarasenko.
Entering his first trade deadline with the Senators, Staios is definitely more likely to move Tarasenko than his captain Tkachuk, though you know what they say at this time of the year : never say never.
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