Brady Tkachuk’s move to the Florida Panthers has pushed the Senators into a familiar kind of offseason conversation: who carries the C next?
There are options. Tim Stützle and Jake Sanderson both have the kind of long-term upside that makes sense for a franchise trying to keep climbing.
Claude Giroux brings nearly two decades of NHL experience and a résumé that includes being the longest-tenured captain in Philadelphia Flyers history. But if the question is who best fits where Ottawa has been and where it’s going, Thomas Chabot keeps rising to the top.
That case starts with time. Chabot is the longest-tenured Senator on the roster, having been drafted 18th overall in 2015 and arriving before the rebuild really took shape.
He has stayed through the turnover, the departures, the scandals, the coaching changes and the losing seasons. In 2019, he signed an eight-year, $64-million extension, and his connection to Ottawa has only deepened since then.
The fanbase has noticed. On social media, one supporter wrote, “If I had a say on who the #Sens should make captain next? Thomas Chabot is my pick.
He's the longest-tenured player on the team. He can handle answering for the team in good and bad times.
Plus, more time for Stützle and Sanderson to thrive without that added responsibility.”
Another posted, “My pick is Tim Stützle, but I believe Thomas Chabot will be the n still captain of the Ottawa Senators.
He’s well respected on and off the ice. He’s the guy that hosts team events, etc.
Ownership loves him. Mature.
Bilingual. Veteran.
I think he’s their guy https://t.co/UMklxrBPoS”
Chabot’s case doesn’t stop with tenure. He has also shown the kind of grit that resonates in a dressing room and with a fanbase looking for a steady hand.
This season included a late-year broken arm in March, followed by a remarkable 17-day recovery that got him back in time to help the Senators clinch their second straight playoff appearance. He finished 2025-26 with 31 points, including 7 goals and 24 assists, in 57 games, while averaging more than 22 minutes a night.
His 0.54 points per game and overall impact made him a useful piece on the back end, and his play lifted the group around him.
That was especially true when he was paired with Jordan Spence last season. The two formed a top pairing across the league, posting a 64.4% expected goals percentage and 3.46 expected goals per 60 minutes.
The on-ice case is backed up by the way Chabot carries himself publicly. At Tuesday’s Senators Charity Open golf tournament, he said the response from fans about the captaincy has been overwhelming and called the idea “a huge honour,” adding that Ottawa is his “home.” Asked about Tkachuk’s departure, he made it clear he believes the organization can keep moving forward with players who want to be here.
That composure matters. Chabot has shown he can handle the attention, the questions and the pressure without getting rattled.
When he was asked about the possibility of wearing the C, he said, “It would be a huge honour. …The way people bring it up to me around town - it’s a huge honour to see that people recognize it quite a lot more than I thought but I don’t control that.”
The Senators do have multiple ways they could go, and each candidate brings something different. But Chabot checks a lot of boxes at once: longest-tenured player, respected voice, steady presence and a player who has already lived through nearly every chapter of this franchise’s recent history. If Ottawa wants someone who reflects the road behind them and the one ahead, Chabot looks like the clearest fit.
In Other News...
Brad Marchand Is Already Stirring Drama Around The Brady Tkachuk Trade
With Brady Tkachuk now in Florida, the Senators are moving into a new era and one of the biggest decisions on the horizon is who will wear the captains letter next. Tim Stutzle has emerged as a finalist, and the conversation got an extra jolt when Brad Marchand, now with the Panthers, weighed in on social media in a way that quickly turned a routine leadership debate into a little more noise than Ottawa probably wanted.
Stutzle brushed it off, saying he does not care and still respects Marchand as a player, while Drake Batherson also got a look at the exchange and called it typical Marchand. For the Senators, the bigger issue is still internal and far more important than an outside chirp, but the teams next captain is being chosen under a brighter spotlight now, and Marchand managed to make sure of that without even putting on a Senators jersey. [Read more 🡒]
Senators Just Opened A Roster Debate Fans Wont Ignore
Eeli Tolvanen is off the board after signing a one-year, $1.5 million deal with the Rangers, and that only sharpens the conversation around what Ottawa is trying to build up front. The Senators have already added William Eklund to their forward group, a move that leans further into skill, but Tolvanen would have offered a different layer with his physical edge, finishing touch and ability to move around the lineup.
For Ottawa, the appeal was never just about another scorer. Tolvanen could have fit alongside the teams more creative forwards while also bringing value on the penalty kill, which is the kind of two-way utility contenders tend to covet. Instead, the Senators are left to weigh whether they have enough of that mix already, or whether the spot Tolvanen filled in New York is exactly the sort of opening they still need to address. [Read more 🡒]
Senators Face Two Huge Decisions After Brady Tkachuks Exit
With Brady Tkachuk now gone, Ottawas front office is working through a pair of franchise-shaping issues at once, and both are tied to the clubs next chapter. One is the contract status of Drake Batherson, an important piece who remains in negotiations with the Senators, with the new NHL CBA deadline adding another layer to how long a deal can be.
The other centers on the dressing room leadership void left behind by Tkachuks move to Florida. Tim Stutzle and Thomas Chabot are among the top candidates to wear the captains C, and the decision would say plenty about where the Senators believe their identity is headed. How Ottawa handles both matters will go a long way toward defining the team beyond this season. [Read more 🡒]