It’s time for another edition of NHL rumours. Christmas has not even arrived and some teams have already been in a trading mood. We saw a major deal with the New York Rangers sending captain Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks. However, the deal brought speculation to plenty of other teams. One team that got sucked into the rumour mill was the Ottawa Senators. This edition of NHL rumours deals with conflicting reports about one of the team’s star players.
All NHL rumours come from the original source and are subject to change.
NHL Rumours
Conflicting Reports on Future of Ottawa Senators Captain
Rumour: Two insiders are having difference on what the future holds for Ottawa captain Brady Tkachuk. Larry Brooks of The New York Post said the Rangers were targeting Tkachuk in a mid-season revamp.
However, Bruce Garrioch of The Ottawa Citizen said the Senators are determined to win with their captain. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on Saturday night’s Headlines segment backed that up and said Ottawa is determined to make sure Tkachuk sees out his deal.
Saturday Headlines:
Streamlining trade/no-move protection?https://t.co/AJENsZaogV— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) December 8, 2024
Analysis: Ottawa was rumoured to be one of the clubs in on Trouba before the deal to Anaheim went through. However, the Brooks report said that Tkachuk was someone the Blueshirts were seeking.
The report from Brooks stated that the deal may have been a costly one with Alexis Lafreniere being mentioned as a possible trade piece. Tkachuck’s contract is $8.205 million through the 2027-28 season.
However, Tkachuk was quick to shoot down any trade talk according to Garrioch. Let’s just say the letters “B” and “S” were mentioned by Ottawa. The term “garbage” was also thrown out by Tkachuk. According to sources, Garrioch said no deal was even discussed.
There’s still plenty of time to turn the boat around in Ottawa. However, there’s always going to be this constant worry that Brady will force his way out much like his brother Matthew Tkachuk did. Matthew got his way off the Calgary Flames and onto the Florida Panthers.
There’s always a fear his younger brother could do the same thing. However, that’s a different conversation for a different day.
What It Means
Things in the Canadian capital haven’t been great for a number of seasons. However, Senators general manger Steve Staios is determined to go down swinging and get this team into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Ottawa has been proactive in trying to sign players like Linus Ullmark among others. The Senators have been actively trying to improve their roster.
After Sunday’s games, Ottawa is currently 12-13-2 and sits fifth in the Atlantic Division. The Senators sit a few points off the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. However, there’s still plenty of time left to go in the season.
Friedman mentioned that the organization is confident that Tkachuk will stay around for the rest of this deal. However, he did mention the chatter will always be there as long as the Senators struggle. The trade deadline always brings about the possibility of a trade and Tkachuk’s name will be one that always comes up for the near future.
Main photo by: Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images
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