The Brady Tkachuk talk has gone on long enough for the Ottawa Senators

The Ottawa Senators get ready for training camp and are looking to put all talk about their former captain behind them.

Brady Tkachuk is gone, but not forgotten.

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As the Ottawa Senators prepare to open training camp with medicals next Wednesday at the Canadian Tire Centre, the departure of the club’s former captain was a big topic of conversation at the annual charity golf tournament on Tuesday at Rideau View Golf Club.

While the Senators were sorry to see him dealt to the Florida Panthers in exchange for four draft picks in June, the players who remain in Ottawa no longer want to focus on Tkachuk’s wish to leave for the Sunshine State and want to prepare to open the season on Oct. 3.

“You want guys to be here. You want guys to want to be part of this team and part of this city,” alternate captain Thomas Chabot said. “So, when you see something like that, I’d be lying if I said I was happy when he decided to leave.

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“We felt like we’re on the verge of starting to make the playoffs and building something.”

The Senators are sick of talking about Tkachuk, but this is a storyline that will follow this team until the puck drops on Oct. 3 against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena.

That’s the first time we’ll get to see what the Senators look like without Tkachuk and then the topic will rear its ugly head again when he returns to Ottawa on Oct. 21 with the Panthers.

“He was a unique player,” winger Drake Batherson said. “Not a lot of guys in the league did what he did and brought what he brought. He stuck up for a lot of guys, and he was great for this franchise.

“Collectively as a team, we’re going to have to find ways to bring that aspect with him gone. We’re going to have to figure it out pretty quick.”

The Senators are without a captain.

Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager, and coach Travis Green have met internally to discuss the matter, and the belief was they’d name the 10th captain in franchise history before camp.

The talk in league circles is that Jake Sanderson, Thomas Chabot and Tim Stutzle are the top three candidates. The possibility of giving veteran Claude Giroux the ‘C’ for a year has been discussed, but what message would that send to those three players?

You’re either ready to be a leader, or you’re not, and in the case of Sanderson, Chabot and Stutzle, any of those players would be a good choice. Chabot is the club’s longest-serving player and deserves the opportunity, but he has only two years left on his contract.

The indication to the players was that the Senators would make a decision soon, but Staios wasn’t about to be cornered on the timing when speaking with the media.

“I don’t think that’s anything that we want to rush into. It’s an important decision,” Staios said.

“Yet, when I look at our group and the potential players that could be our next captain here for the Ottawa Senators, it just comes naturally to all these players that we’re talking about.”

Chabot makes the most sense because he’s the club’s longest-serving player and was passed up for the ‘C’ five years ago, but if he doesn’t get the job then he’ll support whichever teammate takes over the role.

That’s the kind of person Chabot is and he always does the right thing for the team.

The Senators aren’t a better team without Tkachuk, but are they really that much worse? No chance.

Staios moved quickly to acquire William Eklund from the San Jose Sharks after Tkachuk was dealt to the Panthers and he has the skills to play on the left side of Stutzle.

The Senators still have a strong core with Dylan Cozens, Ridly Greig, Shane Pinto, Stutzle, Chabot and Sanderson. If they get strong goaltending from Linus Ullmark and Samuel Ersson, then there is little doubt they’ll challenge for a playoff spot.

There’s excitement about the Senators, but there is also uncertainty because of Tkachuk’s departure. He wasn’t at his best last season, but he was the straw that stirred the drink many nights and helped to hold the opposition accountable when it mattered most.

Stutzle noted on Tuesday that he doesn’t want to answer many more questions about Tkachuk’s departure. That’s the right attitude because he’s no longer here.

Trades happen all the time. Let’s move on.

Tkachuk isn’t walking through that dressing room door.

The Senators don’t need to spend camp talking about the player who left. They need to spend it proving they can take the next step without him.

That’s the challenge that starts next week.

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