Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk's name keeps surfacing in trade speculation despite the fact he is considered one of the team's core players, is signed long-term, and is still very much in the prime of his career with several years of outstanding hockey ahead of him. Senators general manager Steve Staios has remained adamant that there is nothing to the speculation and has repeatedly dismissed the notion of a trade or that Tkachuk might actually be available. And he is probably telling the truth.
It would also probably take a monster offer to get the Senators to willingly part with Tkachuk, outside of him actually demanding a trade. But even with that, let's still try to dream up some dream, hypothetical scenarios that could make sense. After all, as good as Tkachuk is and as opposed to a trade as the front office might seem, this is still a team that took a step backwards this season and remains very stagnant in its rebuild.
It has to change something at some point. So let's dream a little. Whether it is a player like Tkachuk or somebody else, Utah should be going all in on trying to find a home run this offseason.
Everything about the situation is screaming for a blockbuster, franchise-altering trade. After years of financial and ownership issues in Arizona, they might actually have an opportunity to operate like a real, functioning NHL franchise, they have salary cap space at their disposal, and they are going to be trying to build a fan base in a new market. There i.
