The Ottawa Senators’ quick elimination from the playoffs at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes has prompted speculation about the future of captain Brady Tkachuk. Senators GM Steve Staios was asked about Tkachuk’s future in his end-of-season media availability today, and he made it clear the franchise has no interest in trading away – or even having a conversation about trading away – their star forward. When asked about whether he’d sit down with the player to discuss Tkachuk’s future, he said “there’s nothing that we have talked about or thought about where that conversation should happen.”
Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen noted that Tkachuk, who has a full no-move clause on his contract, has “full control” over his future. Although Tkachuk is just two seasons away from being able to leave Ottawa as an unrestricted free agent, it’s somewhat difficult to imagine the Senators winning any trade involving him. The Calgary Flames’ decision to deal Tkachuk’s older brother, Matthew Tkachuk, serves as a cautionary tale. The deal immediately vaulted the Panthers to legitimate Stanley Cup contention while plunging the Flames into what would eventually become a true rebuild. The younger Tkachuk isn’t the same caliber of player as his brother, but he’s still, as Travis Green said, a winger that all 31 other NHL teams “would love to have.” But the no-move clause on Tkachuk’s contract means he could hand-pick a trade destination, and dramatically reduce the kind of return the Senators might receive. That’s a factor that has burned teams in the past trading players with no-move clauses. For that reason, and many more, Staios made it clear today that unless something changes, his hockey operations department has no interest in even entertaining trade discussions revolving around Tkachuk.
Other notes from the Atlantic Division:
- Staios also updated the media (including TSN’s Claire Hanna) on the status of the team’s pending unrestricted free agents, saying of the group “I have not closed the door on anyone.” He said he has spoken to each of the team’s pending UFA’s, but decided it best to “take a little bit of time and reflect” since the end of the season is still so fresh. The most significant name among Ottawa’s pending UFAs is veteran winger Claude Giroux. The 38-year-old, who is a veteran of over 1,300 NHL games, scored 49 points this season. He’s shown he can still be a productive member of an NHL middle-six, and it would not be a surprise if there is mutual interest in a contract extension.
- “It looks like” veteran defenseman Travis Hamonic‘s “time in Detroit is over,” writes Max Bultman of The Athletic. The 35-year-old defenseman, who has 926 career NHL games on his record, only got into 26 contests for Detroit after signing a UFA deal with the team last summer. Hamonic was squeezed out of head coach Todd McLellan’s lineup in large part due to the emergence of Axel Sandin Pellikka, a rookie who is among the Red Wings’ top prospects. When he did play, Hamonic averaged just 14:22 time on ice per game, the lowest mark of any Red Wings blueliner, and a solid step below where he was last season. (He averaged 17:04 time on ice per game as a Senator in 2024-25.) If Hamonic wants to continue his NHL career and make a push towards getting his 1,000th game, he’ll likely need to do so by signing with another team.
While Brady is good at the physical stuff and mucking it up, he’s also a really good sniper. I wish he’d focus more on the sniper part of his game and leave the nasty stuff to the Grieg’s and Cousins of the world.