The Ottawa Senators will try the "next man up" approach without Brady Tkachuk, but good luck with that.
The Ottawa Senators received an added challenge after a substandard start.
After going 1-2-0, captain Brady Tkachuk will miss at least the next four weeks after being hurt in Monday’s loss to the Predators. It could be longer if he gets surgery, a decision that's yet to come.
For a Sens team that hasn’t generated many high-danger chances this season – even if they have conceded fewer against them – the Senators will dearly miss what Tkachuk brings to the table, and they're readjusting as a result.
“You never want to lose a player of his stature, but that’s part of the game,” Sens coach Travis Green told reporters. “So we’re not going to sit and dwell on it…not to sound cold, but that’s the sport we play in, and guys are going to get hurt…he’s a big part of our team, everyone knows that, but it is what it is, and it’s next man up.”
The Sens can’t snap their fingers and replace Tkachuk. He’s the player Ottawa looks to as he sets the tone for the team. He’s the one who makes Senators’ opponents pay a physical price on a regular basis. He’s the face of the franchise. So, not having Tkachuk playing for a long time will hurt the Senators.
The Senators’ forward lines have been put in a blender in the wake of Tkachuk’s injury, with no clear top line. The Senators’ projected lineup has center Tim Stutzle and wingers Michael Amadio and Fabian Zetterlund on the first line. Dylan Cozens centers David Perron and Drake Batherson on the second line, while Ridly Greig, Shane Pinto and Claude Giroux make up the third.
There’s only a finite number of players who can do what Tkachuk can do, so thinking you’re ever going to replace him is dreaming in technicolor.
Brady Tkachuk has 10 shots, 10 hits and three assists through three games. Last year, he had 228 hits, 296 shots and 55 points in 72 games. The only Senator who comes close to Tkachuk's style of game is Cozens, who throws the body and provides primary scoring but doesn't shoot nearly as often.
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The Sens were a middling team without Tkachuk in 10 games this past season, going 5-4-1 in that span as per StatMuse. But they did go 5-1-1 at the end of that stretch without Tkachuk, giving optimists reason to believe the Senators can succeed in the face of adversity.
The Sens won’t have Tkachuk for at least a month as they aim to make the Stanley Cup playoffs for the second straight season. You can say “next man up” all you want, but you can’t place an order for a talent of Tkachuk’s caliber and expect the order to be filled to your satisfaction. Any way you cut it, Ottawa has just taken a serious blow with the loss of Tkachuk, and the way they respond to it will help define the Senators’ fortunes the rest of the way.
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