Tkachuk reportedly signs 7 year deal, posts cryptic message from The Joker

This just in... Brady Tkachuk has signed a 7 year deal with the Ottawa Senators... at least, we think.

Senators insider Bruce Garrioch of The Ottawa Sun is reporting that Tkachuk has indeed come to terms on a 7 year deal, but hasn't offered up any more info.

Check it out:

And immediately afterward Brady himself Tweeted out this cryptic message:

NHL insider Frank Seravalli reports that the deal is worth over $8 million per season:

More to come including official confirmation from the team.

UPDATE: And now it's official:

I see this deal as a fair compromise between the two sides. The Sens get the term that they were seeking and Tkachuk gets the big pay day that he was seeking. All of the reports that had been coming out with regards to these negotiations were that Tkachuk was seeking a short term deal believed to be somewhere from just two to four years. That obviously didn't jive with the Senators who have seen star player after star player walk away from the franchise at their first opportunity. I mean, when you've had Daniel Alfredsson, Erik Karlsson, Matt Duchene and Mark Stone all walk away, you do everything possible to lock up a young star like Tkachuk. With this new deal, GM Pierre Dorion has done exactly that, but it comes at a steep cost. Tkachuk's new $8.214 annual salary makes him the teams highest paid player, just ahead of Thomas Chabot's $8 million annual salary.

It's worth noting though that Senators owner Eugene Melnyk held firm on stance that no player, regardless of their impact, is worth of a signing bonus. For that reason Tkachuk's new deal features no bonuses... just straight salary. Melnyk reportedly does not believe in giving bonuses to his players and employees and feels that a salary should suffice. We can argue over the merits on this, but at the end of the day it's Mr. Melnyk signing the pay checks.