According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, Sens teammates grew weary of the noise surrounding their former captain.
When former Senators Captain Brady Tkachuk held his first news conference with the Florida Panthers on June 23rd, he told the assembled media that it was time for the next chapter.
However, while Tkachuk didn't specify why it was time to leave now, two years before his contract was up, Friedman's report suggests that at least some members of the Senators' dressing room felt it was time for him to move on as well.
On Monday, on the season finale of his podcast, 32 Thoughts, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman said the players were growing tired of the noise swirling around Tkachuk, including his podcast, Wingmen, which debuted last November.
"It was time, it was time to end the noise around the whole situation," Friedman said. "That's number one, as we talked about in a previous pod, post-Olympics, it was time. A lot was going on, and the players were tired of it."
While Friedman didn't specify what the noise was in Monday's podcast, it's well known to Sens fans.
There was the seemingly endless speculation about whether Tkachuk intended to sign elsewhere when his contract expired. That speculation would have only grown louder over the next two seasons.
In hindsight, any attempts to defend Tkachuk's long-term commitment to Ottawa, whether they came from the owner, management or a loyal fan base, ultimately proved to be completely misplaced.
The noise also included the fallout from the Olympics and the political storylines that followed Team USA's victory. Suddenly, Ottawa media sessions in the room filled up with questions that had nothing to do with hockey.
And of course, there's always going to be noise around the biggest personality in the room, especially when he and his brother are out there dropping truth bombs on their podcast, Wingmen. Brady, Matthew and sometimes Keith Tkachuk have regularly generated headlines with their candid opinions and chirps.
Friedman added that one Senators player recently contacted him to specifically mention Tkachuk's podcast as being a problem.
"I did have someone who reached out to me, one of the players," Friedman said. "He said the (Wingmen) podcast caused some problems. And it was just time. Like, it was time. And so I said I would add that (on the next 32 Thoughts) because one player made a point of reaching out and saying that.
"So it's better for the Tkachuks, and it's better for the Senators, just to end the noise," Friedman said. "I strongly believe that."
The noise may be gone, but so is Tkachuk's on-ice production.
We know the Senators haven't replaced the 26-year-old's physical play, but it can't be forgotten that Tkachuk just ended his career in Ottawa as the fifth-leading scorer in Senators history.
The question now is whether the new additions, wingers William Eklund and Andre Burakovsky, can do enough to at least fill that part of the void and keep the Senators moving forward.
By Steve Warne
The Hockey News
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