Senators captain Brady Tkachuk committed to winning in Ottawa

Ottawa Senators Brady Tkachuk spoke to media at Canadian Tire Centre, Saturday, May 3, 2025. Photo by Ashley Fraser /POSTMEDIAArticle content

The ‘C’ emblazoned on Brady Tkachuk’s stands for commitment.

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The Senators’ captain called any talk that he doesn’t want to be in Ottawa unfounded, and he’s determined to help this group make the next step.

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After making the playoffs for the first time since the Senators drafted Tkachuk at No. 4 in 2018, he still isn’t over the club’s loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs in Round 1.

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“I mean, obviously it’s a lie,” Tkachuk said on Saturday as the Senators cleaned out their lockers at the Canadian Tire Centre. “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.

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“Everybody knows that you do whatever it takes to win. Seeing this fan base, the excitement, and how much they rallied around us … everybody is waiting for it, and everybody wants us to accomplish winning the Stanley Cup. I know we have a great group in here, and I know we’re going to get that much better.

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Ottawa Senators Brady Tkachuk spoke to media at Canadian Tire Centre, Saturday, May 3, 2025. Photo by Ashley Fraser /PostmediaArticle content

“There are going to be some amazing memories down the road. With all that stuff, it’s not true. I want to play here, I want to win here, and I really believe that everybody in this organization wants to win here. That’s what makes it fun because everybody has the same goal and wants to accomplish the same thing.”

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Tkachuk confirmed that he was dealing with recovery from two injuries down the stretch. He suffered a hip injury against Team Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off with Team USA, and played through that the rest of the season after missing a couple of games.

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“The hip happened that Sweden game, took some time coming back to try to get it as good as possible,” he said.

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Tkachuk won’t be suiting up for the Americans at the IIHF world championship that will get underway later this month in Sweden and Denmark. He needs some to rest and get healthy after playing hurt down the stretch to help this club make the playoffs.

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He also suffered an upper-body injury when he was hit by Ryan Graves of the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 30, and didn’t return until the final game of the regular season, April 17, to get ready for the playoffs.

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“I don’t want to diagnose and put it out there, let’s just say it’s something you can’t really play through,” Tkachuk said. “Now, it’s just take the time to get it all healed.”