Smith spoke for the first time since his young captain scolded booing fans Saturday night.
When Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk went off on the home fans on Saturday night, criticizing them for their booing, negativity and bullsh**, head coach D.J. Smith knew the follow-up questions would surely be coming on Monday morning after practice. Indeed, after a brief update on Artem Zub's health (looks like he will play Wednesday), the question came:
"What did you think of Brady Tkachuk's comments on Saturday night?"
Smith was careful not to endorse or criticize Tkachuk's commentary. Instead, he reminded the media that Tkachuk wears his love of the capital on his sleeve.
"We don't want to focus on the noise, but I think Brady's a passionate (player)," Smith said. "He was frustrated after the game. Brady chose Ottawa as his home for a long time. He works for the Boys and Girls Club. He's all Ottawa, and he loves the fans. When we have anything where there's an opportunity to sign, Brady's the last guy coming off, he signs until essentially someone on the team pulls him off.
"So the one thing I know is that Brady Tkachuk loves Ottawa and he loves the fans. And I think, at the end of the day, he's probably just frustrated and sticking up for his teammates, as a leader does."
Most observers believe the commentary was, at least in part, an attempt to defend Smith, whose team is currently off to another poor start. The club is 4-6 on the young season, but has also been ravaged by injury, cap problems, and off-ice distraction. Or as Smith called it, "the noise." When asked about Tkachuk defending him from the noise, the Sens head coach heaped praised on his young captain.
"I will tell you this, Brady Tkachuk is as good a leader as I've coached," Smith said. "And, you know, maybe I haven't been around that long. I've been coaching, I think, 22 years this year. He's as good a leader, on and off the ice, as I've seen. He's the guy that fights for the little guy when no one's around. And that's just the way he is.
"And you know what? He's going to continue being that leader. He's going to continue to grow as a player. As you can see, his game has really evolved. But he's going to continue to be a leader that the city definitely can be proud of."
Tkachuk's comments Saturday night drew a mix of support and criticism. Some called him a great leader for defending his team. Others had little sympathy for a player making $10.5 million calling out the paying fans for booing – especially a tired fan base that hasn't seen the playoffs in seven years.
"It's frustrating," Tkachuk said Saturday night. "The negativity from the outside, the constant booing and the bullsh**, kind of, from the crowd too tonight was...I understand that they're a passionate fan base. I understand, I love it. But I mean, when you face adversity, you don't turn your back on the guys out there. We're playing hard. I know it's frustrating right now, but it's not like we're giving up out there. We're fighting to the very end. So, to be honest with you, I was very frustrated today."
Tkachuk and the Senators stand dead last in the East and have lost five of their last six games. A win in Toronto against the rival Leafs on Wednesday would go a long way to turning the volume down on the noise.