Senators' Thomas Chabot just made his case to be next captain

Ottawa Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot just made his case to be the next team captain.

On Tuesday, when asked about his feelings regarding the Brady Tkachuk situation, he responded very much like a gentleman. While he could have trashed Tkachuk for his infantile and insulting attitude towards the Sens, he responded with the best, politically correct answer he could find.

“It’s not fun for us as players, you know how good of a hockey player Brady is. Obviously, I was close to him as a friend and a teammate. You don’t like seeing that… if you don’t want to be here and you want to be somewhere else, we’d rather get to have it happen that way.”

Talk about diplomacy.

When Chabot’s playing days are over, there might be a role for him in Ottawa, but in the foreign relations department.

Instead of bad-mouthing Tkachuk, which no one would have taken offense to, Chabot made it clear how disappointed the team was about seeing their former captain want out. But as Chabot drilled down, it was his choice, and the Senators harbor no ill will towards Tkachuk.

Chabot drove his point home by stating how much the team felt Tkachuk just gave up on them.

"I’d be lying if I said I was happy when he decided to leave... We felt like we were on the verge of starting to make playoffs and building something."

While Tkachuk’s attitude was hardly befitting of a team captain, Chabot’s class and poise scream “slap the C on my chest”. Chabot’s courtesy shows just how much the team, despite the lack of tact on Tkachuk’s part, knows it has something special brewing.

And that something is what makes the organization such a special place to play.

Chabot saying all the right things should inspire confidence in Senators

One of the things that generally occurs whenever there is a departure like Tkachuk’s is a leadership vacuum. Some players naturally rise to the occasion to fill the void. Others just go about their usual business and, in the process, bridge the gap between one leadership situation and another.

The latter is what Chabot is doing. He’s saying all the right things to the media while influencing his teammates behind the scenes.

Yes, there is always the possibility of going down the bitter route. Chabot and the Senators could make hard feelings public. And even if there are some ill wishes, it’s better to just flush them down the drain. Tkachuk is ancient history as far as the Senators are concerned, and, well, why harbor any such feelings?

Holding onto grudges promises to undermine the Senators from within. And wouldn’t that be something Tkachuk would love to see? Wouldn’t it fill his ego to see the Sens crumbling from within?

No, that’s not going to happen anytime soon.

Ottawa has a solid leadership group. Regardless of whoever wears the C in the future, the team is in good hands. With leaders like Thomas Chabot, Senators fans can rest assured that there is nothing to worry about.

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