With Brady Tkachuk out, the Ottawa Senators suddenly have a major leadership call to make. They’re one of 10 NHL teams without a named captain, and the search for the next man to wear the “C” is already shaping the conversation around next season.
There’s no shortage of options, and the Senators can go in a few different directions. They could lean into the future with one of their young cornerstones.
They could choose a steadying veteran. Or they could wait and keep the room in a holding pattern for another year.
Tim Stutzle is one of the clearest possibilities. He served as an assistant captain during Tkachuk’s run, has been with the organization since the start of his career, and is a familiar face in both the room and the community. The long-term case is strong too: he’s signed through 2031 and has already worn the “C” for Germany at junior international tournaments.
The concern with Stutzle is age and responsibility. He’s only 24, which is young for a captaincy of this kind, even if Tkachuk was just 22 when he got the job. And as Julian McKenzie pointed out, there’s already plenty of pressure on Stutzle without adding the weight of the “C” on his chest.
Jake Sanderson fits a similar mold. He’s another player who has spent his whole career with Ottawa, and his contract runs through 2032. He was also among the team’s top players last season and wore the “A,” which keeps him firmly in the mix.
But there’s a wrinkle there too. Sanderson is an American who played for the US at the Olympics, and with recent uncertainty around American players playing for Canadian teams, the Senators could be setting themselves up for another captaincy dilemma down the line. If he’s committed for the long haul in the Nation’s capital, though, he’s a strong candidate.
Thomas Chabot brings a different profile. McKenzie made the case for him on the DLLS Stars podcast this week, saying, "I think a player like Thomas Chabot could easily be captain on this team," McKenzie said.
"The longest tenured player on this team. A guy who, in terms of being an outward symbol, is perfect for the market that he's in as a bilingual speaker."
Chabot wore an “A” last season and, at 29, sits in a more comfortable middle ground than Stutzle or Sanderson. He’s not the youngest option, but he’s not the veteran endgame either. The contract situation is the main limitation, since he’s signed through 2028-29, though an extension later on would keep that door open.
Then there’s Claude Giroux, the veteran choice. He’s not the best long-term answer, but he could give the Senators a stable presence while the rest of the leadership structure settles in. Giroux returned this offseason on a one-year deal, saying Ottawa is where he wants to be after three seasons with the club following his time in Philadelphia.
The short contract makes the captaincy case trickier. If Giroux retires next year, there isn’t much runway for him to hold the role.
Still, his leadership résumé is the deepest of the group. He spent 10 seasons as captain of the Philadelphia Flyers, and no one else in this mix brings that kind of experience.
Ottawa could even choose to go without a captain again for the 2026-27 season. But with several legitimate options on the board, that would feel like postponing a decision the Senators will eventually have to make. The “C” is there to be claimed, and now the only real question is who gets it.
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