Between now and opening night, Tkachuk will deal with many changes, on and off the ice.
Ottawa Senators GM Steve Staios has been busy with summer renovations, improving goaltending, roster balance, veterans, and two-way hockey players.
Here are the biggest additions he's made:
G - Linus Ullmark, D - Nick Jensen, F - David Perron, F - Michael Amadio, F - Noah Gregor, F - Adam Gaudette, F - Xavier Bourgault, F - Jameson Rees, F - Jan Jenik, F - Wyatt Bongiovanni, F - Jake Chaisson, a 2025 third-round pick, a 2026 third-round pick, a 2026 third-round pick, and a 2026 sixth-round pick.
And here are the biggest subtractions:
G - Joonas Korpisalo, G - Kevin Mandolese, D - Jakob Chychrun, D - Erik Brannstrom, F - Vladimir Tarasenko, F - Mathieu Joseph, F - Parker Kelly, F - Mark Kastelic, F - Roby Jarventie, F - Egor Sokolov, a 2024 first-round pick, a 2024 sixth-round pick, a 2025 third-round pick, a 2025 fourth-round pick, a 2026 seventh-round pick.
Now that Staios appears to be settling into his hammock, enjoying a little summer downtime, the hockey world is now taking stock of his handiwork. That includes Sens captain Brady Tkachuk, who was asked about the big changes to his team over the past month.
"I mean, I'm really excited," Tkachuk told the Locked on Senators podcast this week. "I think we addressed everything that Steve talked about going into this year. Of course, you lose a lot of great people and good friends along the way, but it's sometimes just a part of the business."
Tkachuk said a fresh year with some fresh faces will be great for the group and believes the team is better than how they finished last year.
"You can kinda just see the trend with the theme of how we wanna play and almost the identity without speaking about it, Tkachuk said. "Together at camp, you can almost feel it and see it now with just the makeup of our team, and for me, that's what I'm really excited about."
Tkachuk says there are still areas where he feels he can improve and grow, and he plans to rely on some of the veterans the club has added.
"I'll definitely be leaning on guys who have that Cup experience like Perry and Amo (Perron and Amadio)," Tkachuk said. "And Gregor, Jensen and Ullmark, who have had great careers so far, bring so much experience and different mentalities and thought processes to the game."
Ultimately, an NHL captain will never publicly criticize his GM's work unless he's bucking to be traded. But in Tkachuk's case, he sounded genuinely enthusiastic about the changes.
And change is probably something Tkachuk should get used to. The captain and his wife are expecting a baby in September, near the start of training camp. With the Florida Panthers in town for the Senators' home opener in early October, Tkachuk says he was pleased that he won't have to wait very long to introduce his new son to his uncle.
And hey, if the little guy needs a teething ring, Matthew will probably have a good stock of fresh mouthguards he can chew on.