Senators head coach Travis Green has largely been out of the spotlight since Brady Tkachuk's trade earlier this summer.

But during an appearance on 100% Hockey with John Shannon and Darren Millard this week, Green had a chance to publicly speak about losing his captain. When asked about it, he said he was caught off guard by Tkachuk's request and even felt "a little bit" angry.

Green said Senators general manager Steve Staios brought him into the loop roughly three or four weeks after the season ended.

"To hear that he had asked to be traded, and he was going to be moved at some point, unfortunate is a word I probably will use a lot," Green said. "And I can't speak for Brady. But I was a little surprised, a little... you know... Would I say mad? A little bit. But also understanding that players have to make decisions. And you move on, though."

Green said he waited until after the trade was completed before reaching out to Tkachuk. Having played with Brady's father, Keith Tkachuk, he wanted to let the business side of the process play out first.

"At the time, I didn't talk to Brady till after the trade was done. I just felt like it was best," Green said. "That was between his agent, Steve, and Brady. But we talked not long after the trade. Obviously, you know, you have to put business aside and talk as men. I really enjoyed coaching him for two years. We had a good conversation... You wish them luck, and you move on."

As for replacing Tkachuk, Green acknowledged that's not something one player can do.

"We've lost a good player. We've gained a couple of good players. Obviously, a real good young player in Eklund. And I've got a lot of faith in our group. I still think we're improving," Green said.

He pointed to William Eklund's continued development and said the Senators are also hoping Andre Burakovsky can rediscover the game that made him a key contributor on two Stanley Cup-winning teams.

Beyond that, Green believes Ottawa's biggest improvement will come from within. He singled out Tim Stützle, Jake Sanderson, Dylan Cozens, Shane Pinto, Ridly Greig, Fabian Zetterlund, Jordan Spence and Tyler Kleven as young players he expects to take another step this season.

"There's a lot of guys with a lot of room for improvement," Green said.

"Moving on" was a phrase Green returned to several times during the interview. Mentally, that shouldn't be difficult for this group. They went 12-5-5 when Tkachuk was out of the lineup last season. 

But even more than that, as disappointing as Tkachuk's departure may have been at first, it's not that hard to quickly turn the page on a player who didn't want to be here.

By Steve Warne 
The Hockey News

This article was first published in The Hockey News. For more Sens coverage at The Hockey News, click on one of the Sens headlines below:

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