Brady Tkachuk Becoming A Problem for Senators? Head Coach Fumes

According to sources, per Jim Biringer of rg.com, 'anything is in play' for the Ottawa Senators as they consider a trade involving 'a core piece.' Former Senator, now analyst Mark Methmot said a few days ago that "It’ll be a core piece player and it’s going to sting."

Biringer even insists that captain Brady Tchakuk is not off-limits from what he's heard.

According to someone I spoke with when the Brady Tkachuk rumors came out last year was told no at the time but if the Senators didn’t make the playoffs he could be a player that could want to leave. #gosensgo @FullPressNHL @myNHLTradeRumor

Confirmed here this morning https://t.co/foXQ4ho35f
— Jim Biringer (@JimBiringer) November 25, 2024

Biringer says he heard from a source that when the wild and hard-to-believe Tkachuk rumors were floated last year, he was told 'no' at the time, but "if the Senators didn’t make the playoffs he could be a player that could want to leave".

"Methot was bang on,” the source told Biringer. “They’re listening to anything and everything right now. There’s a real concern that this current Sens core doesn’t have it right now.”

Tkachuk has seemed overly 'emotional' on the ice of late, at least to certain segments of Senators fans.

Head coach Travis Green was fuming about the criticism Monday morning, calling it "crazy" to say that Tkachuk is 'too emotional':

My God, to go after a guy because he's emotional and wants to win? Like, really? We want all our players to be emotional and want to win. To challenge a guy like that, I'm probably being light, like, I think it's crazy. No one's perfect. And is he going to make the odd mistake that might cost us a goal? Yes, he is. But I'd rather a guy make a mistake being emotional and playing with passion and his heart than to sit and be meek and make mistakes that way. It's not fair.

Insider Elliotte Friedman, speaking on The Fan Hockey Show on Sportsnet radio, echoed Green's sentiments on Monday.

I get that the fans are frustrated... (but)... If people are seriously saying that he's the problem..... You can't find guys like that... I look at him, and if ever he wasn't there, I think that's something that Ottawa would regret for years to come. A guy like that is going to figure it out, and you live in fear of him doing it somewhere else, just like Calgary (Flames) did with (Brady's brother) Matthew (Tkakuck).

The fan base is rightfully frustrated, as the Senators are staring at their 8th consecutive season of failing to make the playoffs, sitting in 7th spot in the Atlantic Division, on a 5-game losing streak, at 8-11-1.

But Tkachuk being the problem? Don't tell that to Travis Green or his teammates.

Meanwhile, the vultures (i.e. rival teams) will continue to circle the Sens.