For four years, Brady Tkachuk had been telling Senators teammates he won’t re-sign in Ottawa

The Ottawa Senators pulled off a blockbuster trade last week, shipping captain Brady Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers. Only a few expected the Senators to move their franchise player this soon.

However, the uncertainty around Tkachuk’s future in Ottawa had been simmering for years. According to reports, the 26-year-old demanded a trade just over a week after the Senators were humiliated with a four-game first-round sweep by the Carolina Hurricanes.

Ottawa Citizen reporter Bruce Garrioch recently reported that Tkachuk had privately told teammates for the past four years that he had no intention of re-signing with the Senators.

“For the last four years, he’s told his teammates in that dressing room that he had no intention of re-signing.”

GM Steve Staios later confirmed that Brady formally requested a trade shortly after the end of the season. The Senators acted quickly on the situation and ultimately decided to trade their captain, keeping in mind the risk of losing him for nothing in free agency.

As part of the deal, the Senators accumulated a solid haul of multiple first-round picks.

“Should’ve been stripped of the captaincy right then” – Fans react to report claims of Brady Tkachuk telling his intentions to teammates years ago

Ottawa Senators fans flooded social media with reactions after Bruce Garrioch reported that Brady Tkachuk had made it clear to his teammates four years ago that he had no intention of re-signing with the club.

One fan on X (formerly called Twitter) wrote:

“Should’ve been stripped of the captaincy right then.”

Another chimed in:

“So despicable. The Sens and their fans treated him like royalty and in the end he basically spat in their faces. And if its 4 years then this is before all that 51st state bs crap. He never saw the Sens as his home nor wanted to win there.”

Here are some of the other top reactions on X:

“I know Brady only has like 14 brain cells but I refuse to believe anyone is dumb enough to actually walk around the locker room saying this for four years,” a third fan wrote.

“If true he should have been stripped of his captaincy,” another chimed in.

“Brady deserves all the hate coming his way for the rest of his career. What an absolute trash human,” added another.

Brady Tkachuk had been with the club for the last eight years, amassing 463 points through 213 goals and 250 assists in 572 career games.

Also Read: Brady Tkachuk speaks out on his decision to push for Panthers trade