Shane Pinto says the Ottawa Senators’ locker room is handling Brady Tkachuk’s departure the way hockey players usually handle the hard stuff: by separating the person from the transaction.
Speaking on TSN 1200 on Tuesday, Pinto made it clear there’s no bitterness toward the former captain, who was dealt to the Florida Panthers last month and will now skate alongside his brother, Matthew.
"On a personal level, he's still going to be my bud," Pinto said. "And there's always going to be the business side of hockey, so you just kind of leave that out of it."
That reaction stands out because Tkachuk’s trade had already sparked plenty of outside chatter. Media reports had suggested he’d been telling teammates for years that he eventually wanted out of Ottawa, and that some players were getting worn down by the constant noise around the captain. Pinto didn’t address those reports directly, but his comments painted a different picture of the room.
"I think, obviously, (the trade) took everyone kind of by surprise," Pinto said. "He's been such a big part of this organization.
Obviously, the face of it. And he's obviously one of my good buds, too.
So, to see him go, it definitely sucks. But I think he just wanted to go down a different path, and I totally understand that."
For Pinto, the bigger takeaway is that the Senators still believe they have a group that can grow together. He pointed to the core pieces already in place and the time they’ve spent building together.
"We have a bunch of guys here that have been here for a while," Pinto said. "I think we're all growing together with Timmy, Drake, and Chabs. We've been here for a couple of years now, and I think that's the (focus) now."
Even with Tkachuk gone, Pinto said the relationship doesn’t disappear with the trade.
"We just wish him all the best," Pinto said. "I know we'll see him down the road. He's going to be in the division, so I'm sure we're going to see him a lot."
The move removed one of the franchise’s defining players, but Pinto’s comments suggest the Senators’ dressing room has kept the personal side intact.
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