Senators GM Shoots Down Rumors of Potential Trade Involving $57 Million Winger

Getty Ottawa Senators GM shuts down rumors of a potential Brady Tkachuk trade.

Ottawa Senators president of hockey operations and general manager Steve Staios has shut down any chance of the team trading captain Brady Tkachuk.

Tkachuk was rumored to be on the trade block earlier in the season, but nothing came of it. Now, as the Senators are in the offseason, rumors are once again back involving a potential Tkachuk trade.

However, speaking to The Athletic, Staios says Ottawa has no intention of trading Tkachuk.

“Complete B.S.,’’ Staios said when asked to comment on the rumors. “We are building this team around Brady. His leadership and unique skill set are rare. There is absolutely no validity to it.’’

Back in February, former NHLer and current Spittin’ Chiclets host Ryan Whitney claimed Ottawa was getting close to a potential deal involving Tkachuk.

After that tweet went viral, Staios once again spoke to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic and shot down the trade rumors back then.

“Ah yeah, that could not be further from the truth,’’ Staios said back on Feb. 28. “I don’t follow on social media. I do get our communications people alert me to things like that. There’s obviously no truth to that. Like, we’re building the team around Brady Tkachuk, and the type of person, the type of player and the type of leader that he is. He means everything to the organization. And he brings it every night along with our core group of players. It’s a matter of time and a matter of nurturing this group.”

Tkachuk is currently in the middle of a seven-year $57.5 million deal he signed with the Senators on Oct. 14, 2021. He was named Ottawa’s captain on Nov. 5, 2021.

Tkachuk was drafted fourth overall by the Senators in the 2018 NHL draft. Last season, the winger recorded 37 goals and 37 assists for 74 points and 134 penalty minutes in 81 games.

Senators Linked to Linus Ullmark

One potential move that Ottawa may make this offseason is acquiring goalie Linus Ullmark from the Boston Bruins.

Bruins have been rumored to be interested in trading Ullmark this offseason, and Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reports Ottawa will be one of the many teams interested in the goalie.

“After failing in a bid to acquire goaltender Linus Ullmark from the Boston Bruins at the National Hockey League trade deadline in March, Staios and the club’s hockey operations department are expected to make another pitch before the draft set for June 28-29 in Las Vegas,” Garrioch wrote in his article.

“The Senators, Los Angeles Kings, and New Jersey Devils were among several teams that made a push for the 30-year-old Ullmark before the deadline. The indications are Ullmark refused to change his 15-team no-trade list, which meant a possible deal to the Devils was scuttled,” Garrioch added.

Ullmark has one year left on his deal that will pay him $5 million. This past season, Ullmark went 22-10-7 with a 2.57 goals against average and a .915 save percentage.

Senators Enter Offseason With Core Locked In

Ottawa does enter the offseason with not a ton of questions as the bulk of their team is signed for the upcoming season.

The Senators have just one pending unrestricted free agent in Dominik Kubalik while Ottawa has four restricted free agents, which are Erik Brannstrom, Shane Pinto, Parker Kelly, and Boris Katchouk.

Ottawa enters the offseason with just over $12 million in cap space available, according to CapFriendly, and has 16 players signed for the 2024-25 NHL season.