Tkachuk on The Way Out?

Should the guy who was fully engaged, and fully himself, in seemingly just one of four (in, then out) playoff games remain the captain of your team?

Furthermore, should that guy still be here?

Is Brady Tkachuk’s tenure as an Ottawa Senator soon to be over?

This is no longer dismissive chat room and bar room buzz and squawking from a disgruntled fan base via the internet, these questions have become legitimate.

You’ll recall that a couple of years ago, this sort of chatter would immediately get shut down by the upper-level media and upper-level guys in the know.

Now?

“I’ve never questioned his heart and his commitment to win and his compete level . . . but in some ways I can’t help but feel like he’s been a little bit checked out in Ottawa, and I don’t know if that’s post-Olympics or what,” offers TSN’s Frank Seravalli.

“. . . he was a major disappointment this series,” writes Sportsnet’s Alex Adams. “Tkachuk is now two years away from unrestricted free agency. His future and the chatter around him will hang over the team until he’s signed to an extension, is traded or walks away from the nation’s capital. Next season could even be a last dance of sorts for this core.”

“What cost the team in this series was captain Brady Tkachuk going pointless . . .” says Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch on TSN following the sweep.

Four games and zero points. Not much fight as well, if you remove that ridiculous opening draw staged scrap with Jordan Staal and Tkachuk’s chippy display in the death-knell game.

This hammers home what plenty of the Senators’ faithful have been questioning since the season ended in such an abrupt fashion – is it time for a major change?

The rest of this column could be festooned with the unrest from assorted social media sources, be it HFboards.com or Reddit or Facebook or . . . well, you get the picture. And it’s been going on – heavily – throughout the last week and change.

But here’s our take.

The Tkachuk situation is in prime peak in the nation’s capital and while scads of internet posters and analysts are expressing their dismay, the bulk of the NHL circuit still sees Tkachuk as a major player and a major personnel chip.

In other words – ‘Sure, we’ll take him off your hands.’

But as much as some might want to see the St. Louis native depart for a bucket of riches (players, picks, and prospects, etc.), this is all pure speculation at this point.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman smacked the nail on the head with a couple of good points on 32 Thoughts podcast. While he was reticent about ‘telling the team what to do,’ Friedman suggested the organization needs to step back for the next week and take a big, deep breath. Everyone is angry and frustrated by the Carolina sweep, especially after an exceedingly successful second half of the season. Doing anything rash and reactionary – like dealing the 26-year-old winger – might not be the right tonic right now.

It’s a long way from now until the 2026-27 sweepstakes kick off.

Friedman also said while a first-round sweep is disastrous, people need to realize Ottawa lost to the top team from the Eastern Conference; a team notorious for shutting down its opponents.

Quite simply, the Canes are a machine, and the likely Stanley Cup representative from the east.

During Monday’s lengthy player exit interview process, most of Ottawa’s veterans – Claude Giroux, Thomas Chabot and Linus Ullmark – spoke with the gathered media.

Notable by his absence was, you guessed it, the captain.

Tkachuk was actually in New Jersey (he left the team after Saturday’s loss) for the birth of his second child. A pretty damn good reason not to be there.

Linemate Tim Stutzle fielded a number of questions . . . including one about Tkachuk.

“First of all, it’s extremely tough, the stuff he does all the time. And he became a captain young, and that’s hard for anyone becoming a captain in the Canadian market,” the centre said of Ottawa’s captain. “I feel like he puts a lot of pressure on himself, as we all do.

“I can relate to him in a lot of ways, that way. And he wants to win too. He cares. It’s hard, but he’s taking tremendous steps as a leader, and he’s just gonna get better.”

For the time being, the Tkachuk rumblings are just that; rumblings. But what’s that old line about where there’s smoke . . . there’s fire?

Time will tell where we and he go from here.

thegrossgame@yahoo.com

Photo: CourtesyGetty Images