Ottawa Senators: Brady Tkachuk Wants to Sign Bridge Contract
By Daniel Bruce
In breaking news, it appears that Senators star forward Brady Tkachuk wants to sign a short-term deal
It appears as though contract talks between the Ottawa Senators and Brady Tkachuk have stalled a bit over the past week, it seems that the real sticking point between the two sides is the term of the contract.
Andy Strickland of the Cam and Strick Podcast had some interesting insight into the Tkachuk situation. Strickland, who is closely linked to the situation through the Tkachuk family in St. Louis reported today that there seems to be a clear impasse between the two sides.
Lack of communication from Ottawa to the Brady Tkachuk camp is a big reason of what’s preventing Tkachuk from being signed. The Senators Owner has a history of this with star players. The team is set only on signing Tkachuk to a 7 or 8 year term vs doing a bridge deal. 1/2
— Andy Strickland (@andystrickland) October 5, 2021
The Senators, at times, has gone several days w/o reaching out to the Tkachuk camp. There’s a solution and a deal to be made. Again organization has a history of this with star players.
— Andy Strickland (@andystrickland) October 5, 2021
It appears almost certain at this point that when the Senators forward does eventually sign a contract, it will be a short-term rather than a long-term deal. Strickland reports that the Senators have been inconsistent in their talks with the Tkachuk camp that includes Craig Oster and Don Meehan of Newport Sports, if there have been week-long stretches of no communication between sides it isn’t a good look for the Senators if they’re trying to prove they’re willing to spend to the cap.
Again, the same concerns are surfacing for the Senators organization as they have an extensive history of not being able to “pay up” when a star player wants his due. It’s most likely that Tkachuk wants to sign a bridge contract in the first place to feel out the direction of the organization throughout the next stage of the rebuild, and you can’t blame him for that. If the Senators are confident in the plan they’ve put together they should have no issue signing Tkachuk to a 3-year contract and then banking on the team playing to its full potential, and then after the contract expires, he will likely be the captain with more reasons to commit long-term.
At this point a bridge deal will have to get done for Tkachuk to return to Ottawa, it will be better for both sides if this matter can get solved sooner rather than later.