Senators to Flip Picks From Brady Tkachuk Trade for Huge Return

The Ottawa Senators’ decision to move on from Brady Tkachuk is about far more than the return of draft picks—it’s about what those assets will become in the coming days. Make no mistake, the Senators are not done. The picks they got in this trade will not be staying with the club. They’ll be using them, either in a trade or via an offer sheet.

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While the initial reaction to the deal may frame it as Tkachuk for a package built around multiple high picks, including three first-rounders, according to Elliotte Friedman, that’s not how Ottawa is approaching this. Around the league, the expectation is that the Senators will aggressively flip that draft capital into NHL-ready talent before or at the NHL Draft. If it doesn’t happen then, it’s only because their plan is to make an offer sheet pitch on July 1.

With a surplus of premium picks now in hand, Ottawa suddenly becomes one of the most flexible and dangerous teams on the trade market. This is not a rebuild, Friedman says. The Senators cannot afford to become a rebuild team with Tim Stutzle and Jake Sanderson in their prime and on amazing contracts that will only get better looking at the cap increases.

This trade was done to flip Tkachuk. The team wanted the distraction of him leaving gone. The team wanted his drama out of their locker room. Their attempt to get a player from Florida failed, so the plan now is to flip the picks.

This is now a team that belongs to Stützle and Sanderson. Whomever the Senators get for the Tkachuk return will join that core.

Ottawa is expected to explore multiple aggressive avenues to retool on the fly. Names like Jason Robertson in Dallas or Buffalo’s Zach Benson have already surfaced as speculative targets, with Robertson being the one player everyone is suddenly talking about. The Stars want to and have maintained that they think they can get him signed. It will take some moves on their part to clear the space needed. If they can’t, the Senators are locked and loaded to make a trade or go the offer sheet route.

There is a possible hurdle, however. Chris Johnston reports, “It’s my understanding that he [Robertson] would have no interest in signing a long-term deal in a place like Ottawa.”

This Brady Tkachuk Trade Had to Be Done

Internally, the Senators felt like they had to make this move. A situation developed after Ottawa talked to Tkachuk about his long-term future. With two years remaining on his contract, the team needed to know where things stood. Whatever the response was, it left management convinced that action was required now and not having this story go public and blow up in their face.

There’s a feeling that a lot of drama is coming as it pertains to high-profile American stars. With recent reports and rumors swirling around multiple players like Dylan Larkin, Auston Matthews, Connor Hellebuyck, Zach Werenski, and Quinn Hughes, there’s a sense that no situation is entirely stable. It was the worst in Ottawa, where it was clear Tkachuk wasn’t going to be staying.

Now it’s time for the Senators to move on and try to flip that return into the best possible NHL player or players possible.

Next: NHL Weekend Rumors: Tkachuk Trade Truth, Robertson to Ottawa, Murphy Deal Close