When asking New Jersey Devils fans who their optimal trade target would be this season, you will get a lot of different answers. Jordan Kyrou of the St. Louis Blues would come up for some, and others would like to target Jason Robertson, whom the Dallas Stars can’t find the right valuation on. Some fans would say target all the stars on the Buffalo Sabres after we’ve seen the success elsewhere of Sam Bennett and Jack Eichel. Of course, many want to just connect all three Hughes brothers now and secure Quinn Hughes from Vancouver.
However, if given a chance to take anyone with even a chance to get traded, a majority of fans probably say they’d like to target Brady Tkachuk.
The rumors of Brady Tkachuk’s exodus from Ottawa simmered this offseason. The Senators had a very successful 2024-25 season, Tkachuk became a bigger star after his performance at the 4 Nations Face-Off, and the future looked as bright as ever in Ottawa.
The Atlantic Division is in more flux than its ever been. Once a force in the Eastern Conference, the Boston Bruins might be staring a rebuild. The Florida Panthers lost both Brady’s brother Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov, putting their regular season in doubt for now. The Tampa Bay Lightning have had a very rough start, and the Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t found a replacement for Mitch Marner.
This gives hope to teams like the Senators, Montreal Canadiens, and Detroit Red Wings to make their move in a division that’s been locked in the top four for a long time.
Unfortunately for the Senators, their captain went down at this opportune time. He suffered a thumb injury, and he could be out as long as two months.
The Senators have been bad without Tkachuk. They have four points in six games, which has them at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Only the Lightning are lower than the Senators, and it’s due to a tie breaker.
It’s way too early to speculate the Senators selling. They could have a three-game win streak that puts them back in the playoffs. However, there are major issues for the Sens right now. They are allowing close to five goals per game, with only the Sharks worse than them.
Linus Ullmark is once again off to a bad start. We saw him bounce back last season, but can the Senators afford to do that this time? They have BY FAR the worst save percentage in the league at .814. The next worse team is the Blues at .858.
The good news for the Senators is that they have a relatively easy schedule throughout the month. In October, they still have games against the Blackhawks, Flames, Flyers, and Bruins. However, the bad news is that if they lose those games, a harder schedule is upcoming.
The Ottawa Senators might have a difficult decision to make with Brady Tkachuk
Most of their games against the Atlantic Division come later in the year, which should give the team hope no matter where they are once Tkachuk returns from his injury.
As of now, we’d say this is still a pipe dream for Devils fans. Tkachuk won’t be available unless he pushes for a trade. And if he does, he probably wants to go to Florida, especially if they put Barkov on season-ending LTIR.
Still, if the Devils believe Tkachuk is available, it’s a franchise-altering move they have to make. The price doesn’t matter as long as it’s not Jesper Bratt, Jack Hughes, Luke Hughes, or Nico Hischier.