Rangers trade rumors: Brady Tkachuk talk is ‘nonsense,’ per Ottawa GM
The message was sent loud and clear to the New York Rangers, and every other NHL team, fan, and media member. The Ottawa Senators have zero intention of trading captain Brady Tkachuk.
So said irritable Ottawa general manager Steve Staois at Senators breakup day Monday. Though he knew the questions about Tkachuk’s future in Canada’s capital were going to be asked, Staois wanted no part of feeding the rumor mill, so he was direct and to the point with his answer.
“It’s nonsense is what it is,” Staios told reporters. “I don’t read it. I don’t bother with it. We know what we have internally. We have great communication with our players, so we really don’t focus on it.”
Staois’s facial expression when asked if he plans to have a conversation with Tkahuck to see “where Brady’s head is at” showed his irritation with the topic, and the suggestion that there’s even a hint of dissatisfaction between player and team, or vice versa.
“I mean, this comes up very often. There’s nothing that we have talked about or thought about where that conversation should happen.”
Tkachuk wasn’t available to speak with the media Monday. He was with his wife, who gave birth to their second child. Staios said he spoke briefly with Tkachuk after the Senators lost Game 4 and were swept in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday, and they’ve exchanged texts since. Tkachuk was pointless in the series against the Hurricanes.
This is far from the first time the Senators were pressed about their captain’s future with the team. Staios routinely fields those questions, and tries to shoot down trade rumors, as does coach Travis Green and Tkachuk himself.
Last season, Senators owner Michael Andlauer accused the Rangers of “soft tampering,” believing they fed rumors to the media in hopes of stirring the pot, which is always boiling in hockey-crazed Canada.
A year ago at break-up day, Tkachuk was adamant about his desire to remain with the Senators.
“Obviously it’s a lie,” Tkachuk stated flatly. “All those articles, stories … It’s just not true. But I think it’s on me if I let that bother me or take me off what I’m trying to do. Everyone knows that I’ll do whatever it takes to win. Seeing this fan base, this excitement, see how much they rallied around us, everybody’s waiting for it. Everybody wants to accomplish the same thing and win the Stanley Cup.”
Don’t expect Brady Tkachuk trade rumors nor Rangers interest in him to diminish any time soon
Tkachuk has two years remaining on his contract that pays him $8.2 million annually before he can become an unrestricted free agent in 2028. Until or unless he signs an extension with the Senators, the trade talk will grow louder, despite the GM’s wish that the rumors simply would disappear.
“Brady’s got two more years on his deal. It’s like the same exact situation [as Quinn Hughes was in], right? It’s an American kid in a Canadian market, who hasn’t seen a ton of [team] success, and has kind of made some comments that make you wonder if his future is here. And I think that anyone who’s read into that knows, he’s not signing another contract there … it’s not a secret,” Lazarus told Forever Blueshirts earlier this month on the Rink Rap podcast.
“I think moving on from Brady is going to be talked about a lot this summer, like last summer was with Quinn.”
Lazarus said that because “Brady is a loyal, respectful guy,” he won’t push for a trade, at least not yet. But the Senators could look to move their captain — perhaps as soon as during the 2026-27 season — if it becomes obvious he has no intention of signing a contract extension.
If that ever happens, you can bet the Rangers will be there to try and pry Tkachuk away. General manager Chris Drury wants to build a team of younger, skilled, North-South players, who have bite and snarl in their game. Drury’s biggest trade since being named GM in 2021 was landing such a player in J.T. Miller from the Vancouver Canucks in January 2025.
“He’s been infatuated with Brady Tkachuk for a number of years now, and that seems to be the kind of player he wants to acquire,” Stephenson told Forever Blueshirts on the Rink Rap podcast recently.
Tkachuk is seven years younger than the 33-year-old Rangers captain. And he’s bigger (6-foot-4, 226 pounds), meaner, and scored 20+ goals seven times in eight NHL seasons, including three years with at least 30 goals. Even despite a host of injuries the past couple years, Tkahcuk remains a force. And he’s going to get paid, either with an extension or in free agency.
Perhaps Tkachuk is unavailable and out of their reach now. But that may not be the case for long, or forever.
