It Was Time: Senators Players Were ‘Good’ With Brady Tkachuk Trade

The talk after the blockbuster Brady Tkachuk trade on Sunday is fascinating. What seemed on the surface like a big move that came out of nowhere likely didn’t. Part of what took place was the organization learning that Brady wasn’t re-signing. Another was that the Ottawa Senators players were good with the idea of moving on, which is a potentially huge indictment of how they saw him as a teammate and a leader.

GM Steve Staios said of the trade: “ultimately we did what we felt was best for the long-term future of our hockey club.”

---

According to The Athletic’s Michael Russo, Tkachuk submitted his list of preferred destinations to Ottawa a few weeks ago. A few teams were on it, including Florida, Las Vegas, Carolina, and Minnesota. The Wild reportedly made a massive offer. Brady ultimately chose Florida as his preferred landing spot, where his brother Matthew is.

Of note, this had been coming for some time. Senators reporter Bruce Garrioch posted, “The Sens felt after the 4 Nations and the Olympics that the Brady Tkachuk noise had become a distraction, which ultimately had to be dealt with. Staios and Tkachuk met last month in New Jersey.” Staois realized this needed to be dealt with. Waiting might not have been an option and the club didn’t want this hanging over the 2026-27 season. Elliotte Friedman wrote, “The debate around Tkachuk’s future was a never-ending annoyance in the market and in the dressing room.” He added, “Eventually this was going to get out, and become an even more uncontrollable distraction.”

According to Renaud Lavoie, “For the Senators to trade Brady Tkachuk, it means they were under pressure to do so. I’m told this pressure was also coming from the team’s locker room. This strongly explains why they agreed to trade him to a team in his own division.” Lavoie noted in a follow-up post, “Told by multiple sources the dressing room was not pushing for Brady to stay.”

Pierre LeBrun writes, “My understanding is the Senators also had conversations with Carolina and Vegas, other teams that were on Tkachuk’s list. I also think Minnesota was on the list. Four-team list but in the end, Brady obviously wanted to go join his brother in Florida. Senators made the best of a tough situation.”

There Was Technically Time to Make This Trade, But Pressure Was Mounting

David Pagnotta reported that there was talk the Senators were aware that Brady wasn’t going to re-sign with the Senators, even though he was a ways out from being able to talk about an extension. When Ottawa realized he wasn’t going to be a long-term fixture, they started to talk trades with other clubs.

Garrioch added, “It was clear to the Sens that Brady Tkachuk didn’t want to be here. Felt that this was going to happen sooner rather than later. He had no intention of signing here.”

In the end, Brady was ready to go and the rest of the Senators locker room was ready to let him. This wasn’t a team that wanted him to be where it was clear he wasn’t thrilled being. The team will take a hit, but they can flip the picks, and they’ll have money to go shopping.

Word is that they’re interested in Jason Robertson.

Next: One New Trade & a Complicated Maple Leafs’ Ripple Effect