With Brady Tkachuk gone, the Senators are staring at one of the biggest leadership questions on the roster: who takes over as captain in Ottawa?
Tkachuk’s departure, after the team honored his request to be traded to the Florida Panthers to join his brother, has opened up a real vacancy at the top. And while the Senators have plenty of recognizable core pieces, the conversation around the next “C” keeps circling back to defenseman Jake Sanderson.
Sanderson has emerged as a serious option because of what he already brings on and off the ice. He has become a major part of the Senators’ locker room, and his game has continued to climb into elite territory.
Tim Stutzle and Thomas Chabot remain central figures in the organization, while Claude Giroux brings veteran presence and has already worn a captain’s letter before with the Philadelphia Flyers. Still, Sanderson is the name that has gained the most traction.
Former NHL goaltender and TSN broadcaster Jamie McLennan made that case on Thursday during an appearance on Coming in Hot, saying Sanderson has the kind of presence that fits the job.
Jamie McLennan: “Jake Sanderson’s a superstar. He leads by example.
I think he does things right every day… What you can be is just a quiet leader and a guy who is elite in all facets. Like this guy, since the moment he stepped into the league, he’s one of the best defenders in the league.
And now he’s added the offensive component and now he’s doing everything. I still feel at the end of the day, he’s a guy that if you give him the C, he’s going to take that to heart.
“It’s not any slight - I love Tim Stutzle. You guys know how much I love Timmy.
I talk about him on the broadcast all the time… Timmy’s a superstar. It’d be easy to give him the ‘C,’ be easy to give (Thomas) Chabot the C.
But the longevity - if Chabot was 24, I would say he’s the guy because he’s very vocal, but he’s not.”
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Ottawa has been linked to interest in Kreider as it tries to shore up its scoring depth, but the fit is not entirely in the clubs hands. Even with a clear opening on the Senators roster, the bigger question is whether Kreider would want to land there, which leaves this as one of those July storylines where the teams need is obvious and the answer may still be out of reach. [Read more 🡒]