With their 4-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday, the Ottawa Senators have been eradicated from the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs in a four-game sweep that turned out to be a fully disastrous displaying by the staff’s greatest gamers. That features staff captain Brady Tkachuk, who didn’t rating a single objective or file a single level in your entire collection.
Not solely was Tkachuk a whole non-factor offensively, however he appeared extra targeted on attempting to be a pest and cage-rattler than an efficient hockey participant, and on a couple of event, it ended up turning into a detriment to the Senators’ possibilities.
Now that the Senators are accomplished, and with Tkachuk placing a large goose egg on the board within the collection, the main target goes to show to his future in Ottawa.
If he has one.
Will first-round sweep be the top of Brady Tkachuk’s tenure in Ottawa?
It isn’t a contract state of affairs, as Tkachuk is signed long-term on a seven-year deal that carries an $8.23 million wage cap hit per season.
It isn’t even a expertise query, as a result of in case you look past the small pattern dimension of a four-game playoff collection, Tkachuk is objectively a really proficient, very productive first-line participant. He’s additionally the kind of participant numerous common managers across the league would crawl over miles of rusty nails to accumulate. Groups love gamers like this. They crave them.
It is a query of whether or not or not he truly needs to stay there, and there’s loads of smoke to counsel that possibly he does not.
The smoke first began to rise a little bit over a month in the past when his brother, Florida Panthers ahead Matthew Tkachuk, and his dad, former NHL participant Keith Tkachuk, spoke on their podcast and absolutely ripped the coaching staff for Brady’s ice time and position with the staff. Whereas Brady tried to cease them, it was nonetheless a bizarre factor to look at unfold. And it does not take an enormous leap to counsel that if the brother and pop are prepared to publicly say it, Brady might need privately been pondering it.
There’s additionally been a way that Tkachuk is simply sad in Ottawa, a idea that was floated this past week once more by NHL insider Frank Seravalli.
Given his age (26), the truth that he has time period remaining on his contract, and is an attractive mixture of expertise, manufacturing and physicality, there can be no scarcity of groups lining as much as commerce for him. As such, the Senators would be capable to get a fairly vital return, and nonetheless enable them to maneuver ahead with Tim Stutzle as their franchise cornerstone.
It might probably require Tkachuk forcing the difficulty and asking his means out, however all choices needs to be on the desk after one other dismal playoff displaying for him and the Senators.
He would possibly want a change.
The Senators would possibly want a change.
This is perhaps the offseason for everyone to get it.
