Just In: Senators GM Sends Clear Message on Rumors of Potential Trade Involving $57 Million Winger
The Ottawa Senators’ general manager and president of hockey operations, Steve Staios, has eliminated any possibility of Brady Tkachuk, the team’s captain, being traded.
Earlier in the season, there were rumors that Tkachuk was up for trade, but nothing materialized. Now that the Senators are in the off-season, there are new whispers circulating about a possible deal for Tkachuk.
Staios, though, asserts in an interview with The Athletic that Ottawa has no plans to trade Tkachuk.
Staios responded, “Complete B.S.” when questioned about the rumors. This team is being assembled around Brady. Both his leadership and distinct skill set are uncommon. That has zero credibility at all.
Former NHL player and current Spittin’ Chiclets presenter Ryan Whitney stated back in February that Ottawa was reportedly close to a possible transaction including Tkachuk.
The sens have something cooking right now. Rumor Boys hearing that Ottawa would maybe move Brady Tkachuk. Can’t believe it though because no one could be that dumb. 9 points out of playoffs with 2 games in hand https://t.co/EF5FdrXzT0
— Ryan Whitney (@ryanwhitney6) February 25, 2024
Staios pushed down the trade speculations back then in an interview with Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic following the viral success of that tweet.
“Yes, that is absolutely untrue,” Staios responded on February 28. “I don’t use social media to follow.” I do receive alerts about such items from our communications team. That is certainly untrue. Like, Brady Tkachuk is the cornerstone of our squad because of the kind of guy he is—a leader, a player, and a person. The organization is completely dependent on him. And he, along with our core group of players, brings it every night. It just takes time and care to develop this group.
Tkachuk signed a seven-year, $57.5 million contract with the Senators on October 14, 2021, and is now in the middle of that agreement. On November 5, 2021, he was crowned captain of Ottawa.
The Senators selected Tkachuk fourth overall in the 2018 NHL draft. The winger played in 81 games last season, scoring 37 goals and dishing out 37 assists for 74 points and 134 penalty minutes.
Senators Connected to Linus Ullmark
The Boston Bruins’ goaltender Linus Ullmark is a possible trade partner for Ottawa throughout the offseason.
Ullmark has been linked to the Bruins this offseason, and according to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun, Ottawa will be among the several teams interested in the goalie.
In his article, Garrioch stated that Staios and the team’s hockey operations department “are expected to make another pitch before the draft set for June 28-29 in Las Vegas,” following their unsuccessful attempt to acquire goaltender Linus Ullmark from the Boston Bruins at the National Hockey League trade deadline in March.
A number of teams made a push for the 30-year-old Ullmark prior to the deadline, including the Senators, Los Angeles Kings, and New Jersey Devils. Ullmark’s refusal to alter his 15-team no-trade list appears to have stalled a potential trade with the Devils, according to Garrioch.
There is one more year left on Ullmark’s five million dollar contract. Ullmark had a 22-10-7 record, a 2.57 goals against average, and a.915 save percentage in the previous campaign.
Senators’ core is set as they head into the offseason
Given that the majority of their roster is committed for the next campaign, Ottawa does not have many questions going into the offseason.
Dominik Kubalik is the only pending unrestricted free agent for the Senators, while Erik Brannstrom, Shane Pinto, Parker Kelly, and Boris Katchouk are the four restricted free agents for Ottawa.
With sixteen players committed for the 2024–25 NHL season, Ottawa has slightly over $12 million in cap space available going into the offseason, per CapFriendly.
