General Manager Steve Staios says the team won't rush into any decisions on who will wear the C in Ottawa.
The Ottawa Senators gathered at Rideau View Golf Club in Manotick on Tuesday to support the Senators Community Foundation and their work with children and youth in the Ottawa/Gatineau region. It was the organization’s first official team function before the September 16th opening of training camp.
Although Drake Batherson’s contract negotiations drew some morning attention, the Senators’ captaincy has been a watercooler topic since Brady Tkachuk was traded in mid-July.
According to general manager Steve Staios, there is no urgency to name a captain right away.
“We'll continue to discuss it,” Staios said about the decision-making process. “I don't think that's anything that we want to rush into. It's an important decision. Yet, when I look at our group and the potential players that could be our next captain here for the Ottawa Senators, it just comes naturally to all these players that we're talking about.
“I don't think it's on (the players’) minds. It's more just something that we'll continue to work through as we're together now and camp picks up. But we're very lucky that we have a number of players who can be our next captain.”
Regarding the qualities that Staios and the organization value for the position, the general manager preferred to play up the collective makeup of his young core.
“You're trying to look for the right fit for everything at the right time,” he explained. “Again, it's a unique situation where you can't point to just one player. We have a number of players again (who can fill the role). That's a testament to the character of this group.”
Tkachuk’s trade request caught Tim Stützle by surprise, but he affirmed that the group is ready to move on and has the pieces in place to fill that leadership void.
“We're done talking about this now,” the German-born centre affirmed. “We want to move on. Wish them all the best, and I'm excited that we'll be happy in Ottawa.”
The German centre echoed Staios’ comments about the group’s character and composition.
“We have a bunch of guys ready,” Stützle affirmed. “I think we do, but I also said multiple times it's not about the captain. It's also about the leadership around the guys, and that's going to be really important. It doesn't matter who gets it.
“We have a lot of great options, and it's just going to help that we have so many great leaders around the (next) captain. I'm really excited for the next chapter here for Ottawa too. We're going to do a great job helping whoever gets the ‘C’.”
When asked about what qualities the leader should have, Stützle emphasized the importance of a player who can lead by example on the ice.
“The most important thing is just trying to do it on the ice every night,” he described. “It's not (being a) voice all the time. I feel like if you have to say something, you have to say it, but it's mostly what you do on the ice.
“If you bring it every night and if you try your best every night and do it by the right example, that's really important. We have a bunch of those guys on the team, so that's what makes me excited for the future for sure.”
Whether it was intended or not, Stützle could not help himself from playing up the fact that he wants to win in this city.
“For me, it's just all about winning. I'm super excited that everybody in this group feels the same way, and we all want to win together in Ottawa, which is great.”
For the longest-tenured player on the Senators’ roster, it is obvious how much the captaincy would mean to Thomas Chabot.
“It'd be a huge honour, for sure,” the defenceman acknowledged. “Obviously, I felt fortunate enough to be an alternate captain to Brady for so many years. Obviously, this is going to be my 10th season here in Ottawa. It feels like home.
“I spent a lot of time here this summer and have been here for a while now. It'd be a very cool thing, for sure. But as I said, I don't control that decision. Whatever that decision is going to be is going to be the best for the group and the future of the team.”
Under owner Michael Andlauer, the Senators have certainly emphasized the importance of targeting and marketing themselves towards the Gatineau market. Naming the bilingual Chabot would certainly align with that directive.
As a popular, well-respected player and voice in that room, the decision could work. I do wonder, however, whether Chabot could be another Chris Phillips in the sense that he could be a leader without having to wear the letter ‘C’.
Historically, the Senators have recently elected to give the captaincy to young stars like Erik Karlsson and the aforementioned Tkachuk. If that trend continues, Tim Stützle or Jake Sanderson make sense.
The two are the most talented players on the roster, and as hyper-competitive individuals, they have many desirable traits in a prospective captain. A section of this fan base may worry about the prospect of giving the title to another young American, but the fears that another American could one day leave this franchise like Tkachuk did are baseless and ignore the fact that Tkachuk is a unique case.
Sanderson is not trying to market a brand or capitulate to the desires of a meddlesome hockey family.
Irrespective of where the letter ultimately lands, it is encouraging that several viable options exist in the market.
Most importantly, they all appear to be long-term fixtures on this roster and in this community.
By Graeme Nichols
The Hockey News
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