Elliotte Friedman floats possibility of Brady Tkachuk mirroring brother Matthew's exit from Calgary Flames amid NY Rangers rumors

By Abhilasha Aditi

Modified Dec 12, 2024 07:42 GMT

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NHL insider Elliotte Friedman addressed the Brady Tkachuk trade rumors on the latest episode of the 32 Thoughts podcast with co-host Kyle Bukauskas. Tkachuk has been very important for the Ottawa Senators this season. At 25, he is leading Ottawa with 13 goals and 29 points in 27 games.

The Tkachuk rumors gained traction following a report by Larry Brooks of the New York Post, suggesting the New York Rangers' interest in acquiring him. Discussing the speculation, Friedman talked about the Senators' confidence in their relationship with their captain but also highlighted the underlying concerns.

"The Ottawa Senators to me, they seem really quietly confident that this is not going to be an issue," Friedman said. "I think they involve (Brady Tkachuk) in a lot of conversations. I do think they talk to him a lot and I do think his opinion is heard. And part of it, I think, is just the whole "Tkachuk thing"."

Friedman talked about the lingering perception around the league about Brady Tkachuk's pursuit of the Stanley Cup. Since his brother Matthew Tkachuk won the championship last season with the Florida Panthers, there's a feeling that Brady would want to move to a competitive team.

"I get why it happens." Friedman said. "There's a lot of people out there around the league, rightly or wrongly, who look at Ottawa and if they don't make the playoffs again, they're like, is Brady going to be any different (than Matthew)?"

"Like the Tkachuks, they want to win. They're competitive as any family out there. They can say all they want about how confident they are or how good their relationship is, but if the team doesn't start making the playoffs, a Tkachuk is not going to want to be there."

Tkachuk is under contract through 2027-28 with an $8.2 million cap hit.

Ottawa's Michael Andlauer is unhappy with the Brady Tkachuk rumors

Ottawa owner Michael Andlauer voiced his frustration, calling the Brady Tkachuk rumors "soft tampering." While not naming the Rangers, Andlauer told The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun that the Senators haven’t engaged in any trade talks involving Tkachuk.

"When I see our captain, in the one year I've been (Senators owner), there's been three separate occasions where there's been fires we had to put out," Andlauer told LeBrun (via The Score). "I can tell you 100% there's never actually been an ounce of discussion about Brady (Tkachuk) being anything other than an Ottawa Senator."

The Rangers denied Andlauer’s comments, calling them "irresponsible accusations" and referring the matter to the NHL commissioner’s office.