The Ottawa Senators are pressing ahead without their captain after trading Brady Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers in May, a move Senators owner Michael Andlauer described in an interview published on 23 September 2026 as one that was largely out of the organisation’s hands. Speaking to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, Andlauer said family pressure had ultimately determined the outcome, explaining that Tkachuk’s father and brother had got in his kitchen and that blood had proved thicker than water. The decision, Andlauer said, was made by Tkachuk himself, driven by the wish to play alongside his brother Matthew in Florida.
Tkachuk had indicated he would not extend beyond his seven-year, $57.56 million contract, which was due to run until 2028, leaving the Senators with two years of term remaining when they completed the trade. He departs after eight years in Ottawa, the last five as captain, and joins a Panthers side that TSN NHL reported is seeking a third Stanley Cup in four years. In his final regular season with the Senators, Tkachuk scored 22 goals and added 37 assists across 60 games, though he was unable to register a point in the playoffs as Ottawa were swept by the Carolina Hurricanes, who went on to win the championship. He had also won gold with the United States at the Winter Olympics in February 2026.
Andlauer was keen to stress that Ottawa’s fanbase had remained firmly behind Tkachuk throughout the episode, and drew a deliberate contrast with earlier departures from the franchise. He said the Batherson signing was intended to send a clear message to supporters who had already seen Erik Karlsson and Mark Stone leave, adding that the club’s culture and commitment to winning remained intact.
Batherson stays, Eklund arrives
The Senators’ most immediate response to losing Tkachuk has been to secure Drake Batherson, 28, on an eight-year contract extension carrying an average annual value of $10.75 million. Batherson had just posted career-best numbers — 33 goals and 38 assists across 79 games in 2025–26 — and has now been with the organisation for nine years, making him its second-longest-serving player. Andlauer noted that Batherson had a choice and elected to stay, describing the extension as confirmation of the culture the club had built.
Ottawa also acquired forward William Eklund, 23, surrendering the ninth-overall draft pick to do so. Analysis published by The Hockey Writers on 22 September 2026 argued that the acquisition reflected deliberate thinking by the Senators’ front office: rather than searching for a direct physical replacement for Tkachuk, the club targeted a different profile. Eklund has produced more than 50 points in each of the past two seasons, according to The Hockey Writers, and ranks in the 98th percentile among NHL players for high-danger passes — a measure the publication described as indicative of his ability to create genuinely dangerous opportunities for teammates. He is not a like-for-like substitute, but Ottawa’s stated approach is to replace Tkachuk’s overall value collectively rather than through a single signing.
Why Ottawa may avoid Toronto’s fate
The Hockey Writers drew a direct comparison between Ottawa’s situation and the one that confronted the Toronto Maple Leafs after losing Mitch Marner, arguing that the two cases share surface similarities — a core player leaving under difficult circumstances — but that the underlying foundations are meaningfully different. According to the same analysis, the Senators ranked third in expected goals, eighth in offensive-zone possession time and first in even-strength defensive-zone retrievals last season, suggesting a team generating chances through structure rather than relying solely on its leading players. Toronto, by contrast, ranked 23rd in expected goal share and 26th in attempts against per 60 during the period before Marner’s departure.
The Hockey Writers also highlighted Ottawa’s depth through the middle as a mitigating factor. Tim Stützle averaged approximately 5.2 successful zone entries per game across the majority of Ottawa’s matches last season, and Dylan Cozens finished among the top 40 players league-wide in expected goals, according to the analysis. Shane Pinto provides further central depth. The publication cautioned, however, that positive team spirit is not a substitute for on-ice production, and that Ottawa supporters should be wary of conflating a calmer dressing room with a better hockey team.
Compher siblings make Detroit history
Away from the Senators, a notable landmark has been reached in Detroit. J.T. Compher of the Red Wings and his sister Jesse Compher of expansion PWHL Detroit have become the first siblings to professionally represent the same city in the NHL and PWHL simultaneously, according to the NHL Players Association. Jesse, 27, signed a three-year contract with PWHL Detroit in early June and will play at Little Caesars Arena, the same venue where J.T., 31, has appeared for the Red Wings since signing with the club on 1 July 2023. Jesse was among five players added to the new franchise during Phase 2 of the PWHL’s Expansion Roster Distribution Process.
For Ottawa, the season begins on 3 October with a road fixture against the Maple Leafs in Toronto, according to TSN NHL. Andlauer noted that the entire squad had returned to Ottawa by 1 September, two weeks before training camp officially opened, which he cited as evidence of the environment the club had worked to create. Whether that environment — and the strong underlying metrics of last season — proves sufficient to absorb the loss of a five-year captain is the question the Senators will spend the coming months answering.