On Saturday morning, with the echoes from Thursday's season-ending Game Six loss still rattling about in the rafters of Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk was made available to the media for one final time this season. For Tkachuk, not being able to complete an epic comeback against the Toronto Maple Leafs is still an open wound.

As best as he could, he reflected on the season that was, the experience of finally being in the playoffs, and the injuries he battled with down the stretch.

How much have you been able to reflect over the past 48 hours?

Honestly, I haven't really had much time, to be honest—it's still so fresh and raw. I'm still really disappointed, to be honest with you. Obviously, this year has been way different with what we've been able to accomplish. Still not over it, to be honest with you. I still wish we were playing Game Seven tonight.

So I haven't really had time to think about this year, what the future entails. All I know is that the hunger and the excitement—it sucks not being able to play right now.

But with saying that, I said after the game that everything happens for a reason, and I think it's going to create that much more excitement for this group for next year and what we're able to do, and the belief that we have in each other to do what needs to be done.

Can you talk about your injuries and perhaps what you were dealing with down the stretch?

Yeah, I mean, everyone's got something going on. So I was just battling through a couple of things. But I don't think injuries are an opportunity to be an excuse because everybody's got something going on. But now it's just time to take care of it, deal with it, and make sure I'm 100 percent come next year.

How impacted (by the injuries) were you?

I mean, it definitely would have been better feeling 100 percent. But I think when you're dealing with something… just a ton of credit for the guys behind the scenes—all the trainers and everybody, the strength guys—to help you get into as good of a shape as you need to be able to play.

In saying that, I’m not the only guy who was dealing with something, and those guys don't get enough credit to get us as healthy as possible to play and do whatever it takes to win. But now that we're not playing, it's just the time to take care of it so nothing's lingering for next year.

We know you had a hip tweak at one point in the year. Was that what you hurt during Four Nations?

Uh, yeah. It happened in the Sweden game, and it took some time coming back to try to get it as good as possible.

That was kind of our mindset, as those are Game Seven games starting then, so I just wanted to battle to get to the playoffs, and the end goal was to win to the Stanley Cup, and we didn’t do that. So now I’ll take the time to get that all healed up.

It’ll be good to heal up in the next little bit in the next couple of weeks and be able to get training and get ready to go for next year.

You were dealing with a lower-body injury after Four Nations, but you also have an upper-body injury. Were you dealing with both of those lingering injuries during the playoffs or just one of them?

Just one of them.

The upper body was obviously a frustrating one, especially at the end of the year, and one that I can't really control. But it allowed, when that happened, to try to get the lower body as good as possible come playoff time. But it was just more lower body that I was dealing with towards the end there.

What was the upper-body injury?

Uh, I mean, I definitely don't want to, like, diagnose and kind of put it out there. It's just—let’s just say it’s something you can't really play through.

Once you do have a chance to reflect, will you look back and say, okay, this team made a step?

Yeah. Well, I mean, just getting that taste, and to be honest, this whole experience of playing in front of this fan base in playoffs and even the regular season—just kind of the energy, the excitement, the atmosphere—was… this is the only way I can really describe it is, it’s almost addicting, being able to play in front of that atmosphere. It was truly the best atmosphere I've ever played in, and it was so special, and all the credit goes to the fans, this community, and just how special it was.

Like, every morning, I couldn't tell you how excited I was just to step out on the ice, and, you know, those rally towels and that just fire and excitement that the fans have been waiting for—a long eight years. To be able to share that with them, it was so special.

And now I know we're going to get better internally, and we're just going to get better overall—that when that time comes next year, we're not just looking at, "All right, we're just happy to be in playoffs."

We want more.

Ottawa Senators Fans Enter Off-Season With Newfound Pride and Optimism It was a bittersweet sight for Senators supporters to see a packed house cheering their team off the ice for the 2024–25 season after a hard-fought series.