With Ottawa on Edge, Analyst Includes Brady Tkachuk on Trade Board

Brady Tkachuk isn’t exactly in the good books with Ottawa Senators fans right now. Watching him beat Team Canada in the Gold Medal game was strange enough, then add in what was said — or not said — regarding the border and the women’s hockey team, and things have only grown more tense in the Nation’s Capital.

All of this comes as the Senators fight for their playoff lives down the stretch with the NHL regular season resuming, and with just a 34.3% chance of making it, according to MoneyPuck, time is running out. Combine the Canada–USA drama with Tkachuk poised to miss the postseason for the seventh time in eight years, and there are plenty of questions that need to be answered in Ottawa.

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Tkachuk’s future with the team doesn’t appear to be in jeopardy just yet, but Daily Faceoff analyst Matt Larkin believes it’s something to keep a close eye on, having included the star winger on his recent trade board under “big names, blockbuster potential, but too soon.”

Larkin wrote:

“He was pretty sick of losing…how will he take if it he’s right back out of the playoffs one year after it took him seven seasons to finally make it?”

The 26-year-old Tkachuk is in year five of the seven-year, $57,564,958 extension signed with the Senators back in 2021. He’s produced 38 points (15 goals, 23 assists) in 38 games played this season.

More on Brady Tkachuk’s Future

To add to it all, Tkachuk was asked on Thursday whether all of the noise around him right now might impact his feelings about playing in Ottawa moving forward. He brushed it off, for now at least: “That’s not even something that’s crossed my mind. I love playing for this team, I love the guys in this room, I really believe in what we’re all about and that thought has never crossed my mind.”

Let’s be clear: there is zero chance Tkachuk is going anywhere before the March 6 trade deadline. However, this summer, conversations will need to be had between the captain and management. He’ll be entering a season under similar circumstances to Quinn Hughes this year in Vancouver, eligible to sign an extension come July 1, 2027. If the Senators get off to a poor start in 2026–27, the heat will seriously start to turn up on this situation.

For now, there’s little to worry about. That said, we’re not far from the point where things could become worrisome, so if Tkachuk wants to show he’s fully committed to Ottawa through his actions, finishing the season strong will be a good first step.

Next: Analyst Rips William Nylander as Symbol of Maple Leafs Playoff Failures