It's been about 2 months since the Ottawa Senators traded Brady Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers, and the guy who spent 6 seasons lining up next to him is finally saying the quiet part out loud: it's time to move on.
New, for @TheAthletic: Tim Stützle expresses confidence that the #sens are ready to move on without Brady Tkachuk: https://t.co/3KhGSv6LNq https://t.co/3KhGSv6LNq
Chris Johnston's report for The Athletic has Stutzle expressing confidence that the Senators are ready to turn the page without their longtime captain. That's a notable shift in tone from a guy who's been Tkachuk's closest teammate and running mate since they were drafted into the same era of Ottawa hockey.
The trade itself still feels like a gut punch for anyone who watched this franchise try to build around Tkachuk for years. Ottawa shipped him to Florida on June 21 for a package built around 2026 draft picks No. 9 and No. 25, a 2027 second-rounder, and a conditional 2029 first-round pick — a haul, sure, but also the kind of return that only happens when a captain and a franchise decide it's time to part ways.
Stutzle has previously said he was surprised by the move even happening, calling it the kind of thing you're never fully prepared for no matter how loud the rumors get. And they did get loud — Tkachuk spent much of the spring fielding trade questions after Ottawa was swept out of the first round of the playoffs, at one point admitting the speculation itself had become a distraction.
Now the Senators have to actually live in the world where Tkachuk isn't walking through the room. Ottawa hasn't had a captain since the 2020-21 season predating Tkachuk's own tenure with the C, and Stutzle — an alternate captain last year — is one of the names in the mix to wear it next. He's downplayed the idea that leadership needs to fall on one guy, but somebody's going to have to be the face of this locker room, and it might as well be him.
Ottawa didn't just sit on its hands after the trade either — the front office brought in William Eklund, Andre Burakovsky, and goalie Samuel Ersson to reshape the roster around the young core. Whether that's enough to replace what Tkachuk brought — as a scorer, a battler, and a captain — is the real question hanging over this season, and Stutzle's comments suggest the locker room, at least, has already made peace with finding out.