Brad Marchand didn’t exactly hide his opinion this week, and the target was Tim Stützle’s captaincy candidacy in Ottawa. In a social media reply, Marchand laughed at the idea of the Senators considering Stützle for the “C.”
It was the kind of jab Marchand has built a career on. He’s never been shy about irritating opponents, and this one fit the usual script: a cheap shot delivered with a grin, the sort of thing that gets under people’s skin whether it’s meant as a serious statement or just another poke.
There’s a layer of irony here, too. If being annoying disqualified a player from leadership duties, Marchand would have had no business coming anywhere near the “C” in Boston. He has spent years provoking opponents, and sometimes that act follows him right onto Instagram.
The timing makes it a little awkward as well. Stützle’s teammate Drake Batherson is close with Marchand and has trained with him for years during those all-star summer skates in Halifax. And Marchand now shares a locker room with Brady Tkachuk, who is one of Stützle’s closest friends in hockey.
That doesn’t mean anyone is going to suddenly start trading punches over a social media reply. Even the Tkachuk brothers recently sat and chuckled while their father took shots at the Panthers’ toughness level - and probably the Senators’ too - on the podcast they host.
If Marchand’s point is really about Stützle’s old reputation for embellishment, there’s a pretty obvious place to look for perspective. Marchand doesn’t have to search far for a reminder of his own history, either. The NHL literally had to tell him to keep his tongue to himself after he spent a stretch licking opponents to get under their skin.
Stützle has carried the early-career embellishment label, fair or not, and Marchand has spent his career making life miserable for other teams in his own way. At 38, he’s still a very good player, and his career deserves respect. But it’s hard not to notice that the most he offered here was laughter.
Then again, that’s Marchand. He’s made a living by needling people, stirring the pot, and throwing great players off their game. Viewed through that lens, his disapproval almost feels like a compliment.
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This summer has left Ottawa looking and feeling different, with Brady Tkachuk gone and the organization trying to remake its identity around a more disciplined, defensively responsible approach under Travis Green. The Senators are not pretending the transition is small. Losing the captain and Lars Eller changes the tone of the roster, but the club is still trying to keep itself in the playoff conversation while adjusting to a style that asks for more structure and less chaos.
William Eklund and Andre Burakovsky are among the new faces expected to help make that shift work, giving Ottawa a chance to blend skill into the new framework. The bigger question is whether the Senators can absorb so much turnover without losing the edge that made them hard to play against, because this season looks like a test of how quickly a team can change its personality and still win enough games to matter. [Read more 🡒]