The Ottawa Senators have been in the spotlight in recent days, as rumors surrounding the reason for Linus Ullmark’s personal departure – now approaching the two-week mark – reached a fever pitch on Thursday.
We know, of course, that GM Steve Staios came out with a strong statement to deny what he called ridiculous speculation about completely false and fabricated stories. A few days later, attention has turned to the players, with captain Brady Tkachuk facing questions about the issue for the first time.
Understandably, Tkachuk was extremely angry about the rumors circulating about him and his teammates, which was reflected in his media availability prior to Saturday night’s game against the Florida Panthers.
Tkachuk said:
“It’s pretty damning b*********… I don’t think anyone is very happy about a story being spread like this. I think it’s okay for people to criticize our performance on the ice, but when it runs into the family it’s pretty damning,”
The 26-year-old Tkachuk is in the fifth season of the seven-year, $57,564,958 extension he signed with the Senators in 2021. He has scored 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists) in 23 games so far.
Brady Tkachuk has Linus Ullmark’s back
While Ullmark remains out of action for personal reasons, Tkachuk and the Senators still support their top netminder through thick and thin. The captain went on to talk about Ullmark, who is now forced to deal with online speculation, on top of the issues that prompted his departure in the first place.
Tkachuk said:
“Honestly, I really feel sorry for Linus. No one knows what he’s going through. But the fact that he’s even having to deal with this and think about it. All we care about is that he gets what he needs and we’ve said from day 1 that he has our support. Now that he’s having to deal with this, it’s fucking mind-boggling
It’s undoubtedly a very difficult situation for everyone involved, and while they’re doing their best to move forward and block out the noise, that’s easier said than done – something that was evident in Thursday night’s 8-2 loss at Colorado.
That said, if the Senators want to have any chance of staying in the playoff race, they will have to do just that, as they currently sit six points out of the final six-team wild card spot to jump into the process.
Next: Nothing can be ruled out: can devils trade their captain?
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