NHL-ийн Оттава Сенаторс баг ахлагч Брэди Ткачукийг Флорида Пантерс руу солилцоогоор явуулсны дараа бүрэлдэхүүнээ шинэчлэх сорилттой нүүр тулж байна.
Оттава Сенаторс багийн хамгаалагч Томас Шабо багийн бэлтгэлийн өмнөх уулзалтын үеэр багийн ахлагч асан Брэди Ткачукийн явсан нь бүрэлдэхүүнд томоохон орон зай үлдээснийг хүлээн зөвшөөрлөө. Багийн удирдлагууд болон тоглогчид түүнийг багийн сэтгэл зүйн удирдагч байсныг онцолж байгаа ч одоо ирээдүйн төлөө тэмүүлэх шаардлагатай байгааг илэрхийлэв. Стив Стайос болон багийн дасгалжуулагч Трэвис Грин нар энэхүү өөрчлөлтийг хүндхэн хүлээж авсан ч багийн цаашдын хөгжилд анхаарлаа хандуулж байна.
Брэди Ткачукийн хувьд 2025-2026 оны улиралд баруун эрхий хурууны гэмтлийн улмаас 20 тоглолтыг өнжсөн ч 60 тоглолтод 59 оноо авсан үзүүлэлттэй байв. Түүнийг явсны дараа Оттава Сенаторс солилцоогоор дөрвөн драфтын эрх, тэр дундаа гурван нэгдүгээр тойргийн эрхийг авсан бөгөөд нэгийг нь ашиглан Сан-Хосе Шаркс багаас довтлогч Уильям Эклундыг эгнээндээ нэгтгэжээ.
Одоогийн байдлаар Томас Шабо, Тим Штютцле, Жейк Сандерсон нар шинэ ахлагчийн гол нэр дэвшигчдээр тодроод байна. Багийн ерөнхийлөгч Сирил Лидер олон нийтийн үйл ажиллагаа болон багийн дотоод уур амьсгалыг сэргээхэд шинэ тоглогчид үүрэг гүйцэтгэнэ гэдэгт итгэлтэй байгаагаа илэрхийллээ. NHL-ийн шинэ улирал эхлэхийн өмнө Оттава Сенаторс “The Hill We Choose” уриаг дэвшүүлж, үнэнч хөгжөөн дэмжигчидтэйгээ хамтдаа шинэ амжилтын төлөө тэмцэхээ мэдэгдээд байна.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
When Thomas Chabot welcomed media members at Ottawa’s Rideau View Golf Club on a gray Tuesday morning, the Senators defenseman had the energy of a teacher greeting students after a summer away.
“It feels like the first day of school when we were kids,” Chabot told reporters before the team’s annual golf tournament. “Even though we talk to each other all summer long, it still feels like we haven’t spoken in a while. So, it’s good to be back here.”
But just as a school year can be exciting for new and returning faces alike, the absences of those who’ve moved elsewhere can also loom large.
The shadow of Brady Tkachuk has lingered around the organization and its fanbase since the former Senators captain engineered a trade to the Florida Panthers in June. Tkachuk was seen as the team’s emotional leader, literally and figuratively driving his team into the fight as it broke a seven-year drought to reach the Stanley Cup playoffs in each of the last two seasons. Now, with another training camp nearing, his former organization is left to pick up the pieces.
“You want guys to be here. You want guys to want to be partof this team and part of this city,” Chabot said. “When you see something like that, obviously, I’d be lying if I said I was happy when he decided to leave.
“You want guys to stick around, and we felt like we were on the verge of starting to make the playoffs and building something.”
The aftermath of Brady Tkachuk in Ottawa
Sean McIndoe and Julian McKenzie
In the two-plus months since he left, Tkachuk’s ex-teammates and others in Ottawa have shared their perspectives on the move. GM Steve Staios told The Sick Podcast in July that Tkachuk had been trending toward a departure for over a year and a half before his actual trade request. Head coach Travis Green acknowledged he was a “little upset” on the Coming in Hot podcast last week. Defenseman Jake Sanderson, who won Olympic gold with Tkachuk in February as members of Team USA, learned about Tkachuk’s departure on the day it happened — the same day Sanderson got engaged to his fiancée, Meghan.
“It was a really weird day, for sure,” Sanderson said at the NHL’s player media tour in Las Vegas. “A lot of emotions. It was tough.”
Added forward Tim Stützle, when asked about Tkachuk’s trade request: “I was pretty surprised. But at the end (of the day), it’s his decision, and nothing we can do about that. We’re moving on, and I’m excited for the future.”
In Florida, on top of uniting with brother Matthew, Tkachuk joins a team thirsty to regain championship glory after injuries derailed last season. He’ll also hope for a cleaner bill of health after a right thumb injury led him to miss 20 games in 2025-26, though he still produced 59 points in 60 games.
The Sens, meanwhile, obtained four draft picks, including three first-rounders, and have already used one to obtain forward William Eklund from the San Jose Sharks. Had a roster player returned in the Tkachuk trade, the outlook might be different. But it is understood that Ottawa will need more than one trade to replace its former captain’s production. And until then, a void remains that the team must figure out how to fill on and off the ice.
Sens fans are still angry and aren’t over Tkachuk being gone.They’ve burnt or sold their Tkachuk No. 7 jerseys, expressed regret over him being named captain, and groaned at the Sens’ decision to give him a video tribute ahead of his Oct. 21 return to the Canadian Tire Centre. The Sens have since organized a jersey exchange for fans and poked fun at the Tkachuk trade during their 2026-27 schedule release video.
But the organization also sees a void, including from a community standpoint. Tkachuk was known for his partnership with the local Boys & Girls Club of Ottawa, and often appeared front and center during the team’s annual visits to the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario around Christmas.
“It’s incumbent on us to replace that personality,” Senators team president Cyril Leeder told The Athletic last week. “We don’t want our community efforts to slide. And we’ve got other guys, I think, who will step forward and fill that void. As others have in the past.”
Brady Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers
Sean McIndoe and Sean Gentille
Finally, who will succeed Tkachuk as captain? Chabot, Stützle, and Sanderson have emerged as three prominent candidates. While the decision isn’t “anything that we want to rush into,” Staios said, he acknowledged that it’s top of mind for the organization.
“It’s an important decision,” the GM added Tuesday. “Yet, when I look at our group and the potential players that can be our next captain here for the Ottawa Senators, it just comes naturally to all these players that we’re talking about. I don’t think it’s on their minds. I think it’s more just something that we’ll continue to work through as we’re together now and camp picks up.
“We’re very lucky that we have a number of players that can be our next captain.”
Until then, the Senators are embracing those who remain. Last week, the organization unveiled a new team slogan, “The Hill We Choose”, aimed at those who remain fans while refusing to follow family members or friends to rival teams. In the dressing room, players still believe they have a solid, playoff-bound foundation.
“We still will (be good),” Sanderson said in Las Vegas. “For me, the way I look at it, I’m not surprised that Brady would want to go play with his brother. I don’t think anybody should be surprised, so I don’t blame him for that. But absolutely, I think we’re a team that’s getting a lot better and has a window here to win a Stanley Cup.”
Still, not enough time has passed for Tkachuk’s departure to stop being a sensitive topic. And scars from that decision won’t be fully healed once he returns with the Panthers in October. Especially if the Senators fail to prove they can go on without him.
—Mark Lazerus contributed to this report.
