The real reason the Senators traded Brady Tkachuk.

The hockey world is still reeling from the shocking trade that sent now former Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers, and the biggest question on everyone's mind is what exactly happened here?

Well on Monday morning NHL insider Elliotte Friedman took to the airwaves and shared his insight on how exactly things broke down between Tkachuk and the Senators and furthermore how we eventually got to the point where he was traded. According to the insider, things took a sharp turn when Senators general manager Steve Staios visited Tkachuk at his home in New Jersey and received an answer he didn't like from his captain.

"This all happened because Ottawa asked Tkachuk 'Two years from now what are the chances that you re-sign here,'" revealed Friedman on the 32 Thoughts podcast. "I don't know if he said no chance... whatever the case is, Ottawa walked out of that meeting thinking they had to do this."

While that is all well and good, there was a reason the question was being asked in the first place. In a surprising revelation, Friedman revealed that not all was well in the Ottawa Senators locker room.

"It happened too much in Ottawa," revealed Friedman. "It was too distracting."

While fans in Ottawa were certainly annoyed at the constant chatter around Tkachuk, it turns out they weren't alone in their frustrations. According to Friedman those frustrations may very well have been shared by Tkachuk's own teammates.

"I think post Olympics it became a problem in the room," revealed Friedman. "It was debate in the market that fans didn't want and the team didn't want... everyone was tired of it."

While I certainly do not want to take credit away from the Carolina Hurricanes, I do have to wonder if that tension in the locker room contributed to Tkachuk's abysmal playoff performance. Tkachuk was largely invisible during the Hurricanes first round sweep of the Senators, putting up no goals and no assists and finishing the series with a plus minus rating of -4.

Friedman also pointed to one additional factor and it's a big one. While he offered a number of caveats before expressing what is his opinion, there's no question that this will ring true to hockey fans who have been paying attention.

"What I believe is the truth is the way the American players that won the gold medal felt in their Canadian markets post-Olympics is a factor here," revealed Friedman. "Some of them felt a bit hated and it might have influenced their decisions. You may think that's their problem, you may think that I shouldn't even be bringing that up but it's a fact and it's part of this process."

That last comment suggests this may not be the last move we see of this nature. While that may be true, Tkachuk's case may have been uniquely terrible according to the insider.

"There were a few weeks there post olympics in Ottawa that it was crazy," revealed Friedman after speaking to sources more willing to go on the record following the trade. "The reaction was so intense, so intense, and I think he was affected by it, the fans there were affected by it, and I think the room got affected by it."