Brady Tkachuk requested trade, Senators GM confirms

Tkachuk, Ottawa's captain since 2021, traded to Florida on Sunday

Brady Tkachuk asked to be traded, Ottawa Senators GM confirms

Ottawa Senators president and general manager Steve Staios confirmed Monday that the team's captain Brady Tkachuk asked to be traded, but did not reveal why.

The Senators and the Florida Panthers finalized the deal Sunday. Ottawa will get four draft picks in exchange for Tkachuk, who will join his brother Matthew on the Panthers in Sunrise, Fla.

Staios said Monday that Tkachuk requested a trade about 10 days after the end of the Senators' season, and said the team did what it needed to do.

"I have no intention of this group taking a step back," he said.

Staios declined to say why Tkachuk made the request, saying he would leave that explanation to Tkachuk — who has not yet commented on the trade.

The GM said he wasn't overly surprised after noticing unspecified changes in the captain over the last season.

"I was always fully supportive and wanting to make it work long-term. I think it became clear as the season went on this year that maybe something was amiss," he said.

The Panthers are planning a news conference on Tuesday morning.

The Tkachuk brothers won gold for the U.S. at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics, and also played together at the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off tournament.

The trade ends the younger Tkachuk's eight-season run with Ottawa. The winger scored 213 goals in 572 games, accumulated 821 penalty minutes and led the team to first-round playoff exits in 2025 and 2026.

Staios thanked Tkachuk for his impact on the team and the community.

Senators deal captain Brady Tkachuk to Panthers for package of draft picks

Ottawa has seen homegrown captains Daniel Alfredsson and Erik Karlsson leave, plus other stars such as eventual Vegas captain Mark Stone.

"If you think people don't want to play in Ottawa, I don't think that's the case," Staios said. "This was a unique situation. Clearly, you see where he was [traded] to, there's a connection there."

Ottawa Senators fans react to Brady Tkachuk trade news

Ottawa will get the ninth pick in this week's entry draft, Tampa Bay's 25th-overall pick this year, the Panthers' second-round pick in 2027 and their top 10-protected first-round pick in 2029. Staios said the pick would become unprotected in 2030 if Florida gets a Top-10 pick in 2029.

Ottawa also has the 32nd overall draft pick this year.

Staios said there is "robust" trade interest in those draft picks.

"We are active and we are open," he said, shortly after his cell phone rang during his answer.

Stars such as Tim Stützle and Jake Sanderson remain part of Ottawa's core as the Senators work to break out of the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2017. The trade also frees up several million dollars of salary cap space.

"You're never really going to replace Brady, he is a unique player, [but] are there ways I can help make this team better? We think there's an opportunity to do that," Staios said.

Andrew Foote has been covering Ottawa-area news for the CBC since February 2013 after graduating from Carleton University. He can be reached at andrew.foote@cbc.ca.

With files from David Fraser and The Associated Press