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Senators Address Brady Tkachuk’s Future After Absence from Exit Interviews
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- Senators Address Brady Tkachuk’s Future After Absence from Exit Interviews
The Ottawa Senators closed their season with a 4-0 first-round sweep at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes , scoring just five goals across four games and going 1-for-21 on the power play.
Following a playoff series full of offensive struggles that ended the Senators' postseason hopes early for the second consecutive season, attention shifted toward the future of captain Brady Tkachuk in Ottawa.
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Tkachuk scored 22 goals and 59 points in 60 regular-season games, finishing with one of the highest points-per-game rates of his career after returning from early-season thumb surgery. That said, the Senators' captain failed to score a single postseason point.
Tkachuk, who is under a seven-year, $57.56 million contract ending in July 2028, did not attend the Senators' exit interviews on Monday. The captain, however, has more than a fair reason for that, as he was away attending to his family following the birth of his second child.
Ottawa Senators left wing Brady Tkachuk (7) comes off the ice.James Guillory-Imagn Images
Senators general manager Steve Staios addressed the rumors as directly as possible, dismissing any idea that the franchise is considering a move involving Tkachuk.
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"It's nonsense is what [the speculation] is," Staios said. "It depends on what link and what fan base it's coming from. I don't read it, I don't bother with it. We know what we have internally, we have great communication with our players. We really don't focus on it.
"There's nothing that we have talked about or thought about where that conversation should happen."
Head coach Travis Green discussed the broader context of Tkachuk's season, which was impacted by injuries.
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"I think we lose sight of the season that he had," Green said. "I feel like I'm repeating myself a lot in this room, getting questioned about the player that 31 teams would love to have. Was he his absolute best? I don't know if any player was their absolute best on our team. Were there games that he could have played better? Yeah, for sure, every player does."
The Senators are projected to enter the offseason with $17.3 million in cap space with a few veterans, but no core pieces, set to enter free agency this summer.
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This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Apr 28, 2026, where it first appeared in the NHL section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
