Brady Tkachuk has been named the 10th, and youngest, captain in Ottawa Senators history. The team announced Friday that Tkachuk would be the first player since 2018 to don the “C” on a Senators sweater. Tkachuk will mark his first game as captain in a 2pm tilt against the defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning tomorrow.
In a statement posted to the Senators website, owner Eugene Melnyk said “Brady personifies leadership…While on the ice, he craves winning and commands respect. Off of it, he routinely sets a good example for his teammates and carries himself with a combination of confidence and dignity. He’s deserving of this next step in his career. We’re proud to bestow the honour of being the team’s 10th captain upon him.”
Tkachuk recently signed a 7 year/$57.5M contract with Ottawa, following a lengthy negotiation that saw him miss training camp and the beginning of the regular season. The 22 year old is a former 4th overall draft pick of the Senators in the 2018 Entry Draft, and has amassed 129pts (62G, 67A) in 205 games at the NHL level.
The off-season saw some debate within the Senators organization on who the next captain should be. Owner Eugene Melnyk added fuel to the fire with his stance on long term deals and the captaincy on the Toronto Sports Media circuit where, despite the team’s insistence that they do not negotiate through the media, it sounded as though the team may have been using the captaincy as leverage in its negotiations with the Tkachuk camp.
Now it’s water under the bridge, as the organization hopes this tidbit of good news can spark some energy in a team that’s looked flat in its past two contests. Ottawa currently sits in 7th place in the Atlantic Division with a 3-6-1 record.