After the Ottawa Senators traded captain Brady Tkachuk to the divisional rival Florida Panthers, it meant that Ottawa suddenly had a void not only in leadership, but in their top-six forward units.
Tkachuk, whom the Senators took in the 2018 NHL Draft, had been with the club for his entire career and had served as captain over the last several seasons. But now, there are at least three contenders to be named his official replacement.
According to a recent report, the Senators are considering Tim Stutzle, Thomas Chabot, and Jake Sanderson as their next captain. However, Panthers notorious pest (and Tkachuk’s new teammate) Brad Marchand had something to say about it on social media, and now, Stutzle is responding.
Ottawa Senators Forward Tim Stutzle Responds To Brad Marchand’s Social Media Chirp
Puck Empire was the first to report that the Senators were choosing from three candidates as Tkachuk’s successor as captain, writing:
“The Ottawa Senators are reportedly “closing in on a decision on who is going to replace Brady Tkachuk,” and their big-three of Thomas Chabot, Tim Stutzle, and Jake Sanderson are believed to be the finalists. Who should get the ‘C’?”
In response, Marchand appeared to suggest that the idea of naming Stützle as the Senators’ captain was essentially a joke.
“Hahaha …..Stutzle…..hahaha,” Marchand responded.
Now, Stutzle is firing right back.
“I don’t care about his opinion,” Stutzle said via TSN.
Meanwhile, Senators forward Drake Batherson, who routinely trains during the offseason with Marchand, reached out to him.
“I texted him saying, ‘Marchy what are you doing?’” Batherson said with a laugh. “I told Timmy it’s all good. He’s been doing that for 20 years, that’s just Marchy being Marchy.”
The Senators Have Responded To Brady Tkachuk’s Departure
Naturally, Stutzle was asked about the Tkachuk trade, which stemmed from an original request to be moved.
“Pretty surprised,” Stutzle said. “At the end it’s his decision. I said before we’re moving on.”
“If you play with a guy for that many years – a good friend to everyone on the team. You can’t worry about that. You gotta keep playing. I’m excited for next season.”
Meanwhile, Chabot said that it wasn’t an ideal situation for Tkachuk to leave right after the club made the postseason for the second straight year.
“We always do. You want guys to be here,” Chabot said. “You want guys to want to be part of this team and city. When you see something like that – I’d be lying to say I was happy when he decided to leave….we felt like we’re on the verge of starting to make playoffs and building something.”
However, Chabot explained that it would be an honor for him to be named Ottawa’s next captain and Tkachuk’s successor.
“It would be a huge honor,” Chabot said. “…The way people bring it up to me around town – it’s a huge honour to see that people recognize it quite a lot more than I thought but I don’t control that.”
Ottawa opens Training Camp later this month.
Senators’ Tim Stutzle Fires Right Back At Brad Marchand