Even after years of speculation that he’d one day leave Ottawa, Brady Tkachuk getting traded to the Florida Panthers came as a shock to the hockey world.
That was surely the case for his former Senators teammates as well, and on Friday, we got to hear what his good friend and longtime teammate Tim Stützle thought — and thinks — of the deal that sent Tkachuk to their division rival.
“I feel like you’re always surprised over a big move like that. Yeah, we’re going to miss him, but at the end of the day we have to focus on what’s ahead and what we have in Ottawa. We have a lot of guys who love being in Ottawa — and I’m sure he did too. It was just time for him to move on and we’ve got to accept that…. I want to thank ‘Chucky’ for what he’s done for me, for my teammates. He took me in when I was younger and did everything in a possible way to make me feel welcome and he was always a good teammate and obviously a really, really good player.
I think our team is on the right path. We’re still really young, obviously and I strongly believe in this group. I’ve always said that and that hasn’t changed. I’m excited to be in Ottawa and I’m excited to see all the guys and work for the same goal,”
The 24-year-old Stützle is locked in with the Senators for five more years thanks to the eight-year, $66.8 million contract extension he signed with the team back in 2022.
After the Tkachuk saga, Ottawa should be thrilled to have Stützle and Jake Sanderson both locked in long-term on what look like very team-friendly contracts with the salary cap rising.
While losing Tkachuk certainly stings, moving past the constant talk of whether the captain wanted to be there or not could prove to be a positive for the Senators, and they’ll have the opportunity to show that moving forward.
Next: Could the Mariners Be In for a Complete Reset This Offseason?
