Report: Brady Tkachuk only wants to sign a bridge deal; Senators prep to start season without him
Anthony Scultore
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The reason for why Brady Tkachuk and the Ottawa Senators have not come to an agreement has been made clear. According to Andy Strickland of the Cam and Strick Podcast, it has everything to do with term.
“In a nutshell here it is,” Strickland began. “The Tkachuk’s want a bridge deal and Ottawa does not want to sign (Brady) Tkachuk to a bridge deal. They want to do a 7 or 8 year deal and Brady Tkachuk doesn’t want to.”
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The Brady Tkachuk hold out continues
What needs to be understood is that the Sens are not dealing with just Brad, but also his father Keith who was an NHL star and his brother Matt. It’s a “family business.”
“There was a period of 4 or 5 days where they didn’t even hear from the Senators but they’ve been putting it out there with the media that they’ve been talking,” Strickland added.
Ultimately, Strickland believes Tkachuk would sign a short term deal. As to why not long term, Brady wants to know what the future of the franchise is before doing so. Similar to what his brother Matthew Tkachuk did in Calgary.
What was also made clear is that this is a negotiation and nothing to do with being a Senator. “Don’t confuse that with him not liking Ottawa. He loves being in Ottawa,” Strickland clarified.
As far as opening night in Ottawa, head coach DJ Smith is already telling the media they are preparing to start without him.
Brady feels no pressure
According to a recent article from Bruce Garrioch it’s unlikely that his fellow RFA signings will impact his decision.
Given the fact, Pettersson and Hughes have agreed to deals, you had to wonder if that puts some pressure on Tkachuk. “You would think so, but it’s hard to tell with the (Tkachuk) family,” one league insider said. “He appears to be the last man standing, but I’m not sure he’d feel the pressure the same way others would.”
Ottawa Sun
Listen, Brady’s own brother Matt foreshadowed this scenario during the NHL’s Media Tour before camps opened.
“He might be pulling a classic Tkachuk right now. Dad held out, Matthew held out, and Brady looks like he’s on his way right now,” he told Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek. “So hopefully it can get figured out here.”
Bottom line, the Senators need the 22 year-old Tkachuk to be a competitive team. He scored 36 points in 56 games for the Sens last season.
