Tkachuk played hardball with the Senators and then General Manager Pierre Dorion until mid-October in 2021 when he finally signed a 7-year, $57.5M extension with the team. A month later, he was named captain and was considered a prominent building block for the Senators to get back to being a perennial playoff contender. Unfortunately, things have not gone as planned for Tkachuk and the Sens as they have yet to qualify for the playoffs and appear to be stuck in a constant cycle of rebuilding.
This past season, Tkachuk was involved in a lot of controversy around empty-net goals when he famously said he thought Ridly Greig taking a slapshot into the Toronto Maple Leafs empty net was funny, but then attacked New Jersey Devils captain Nico Hischier later in the season for guiding the puck into the Senators empty net as time expired.
Tkachuk has a no-movement clause that is set to kick in on July 1st for the final three seasons of his current contract and according to Rutherford, the Senators may want to get ahead of that so they do not run into the situation the Leafs are currently in with Mitch Marner and his ability to block any trade.
At a cap hit of $8.2M for another three seasons, Tkachuk would provide the acquiring team with an all-around player, in terms of providing scoring, physicality, and being a pest. With the Sens stuck in a loop of rebuilding, it will be interesting to see whether Steve Staios decides that he is no longer part of the "core" going forward before his no-movement clause kicks in.
