Less than 24 hours after Brady Tkachuk was dealt to the Florida Panthers, Ottawa Senators GM Steve Staios met local media including Hockey Hot Stove Monday.

It was only two months ago Staios held his season end availability at the Canadian Tire Centre stating it was “nonsense” on the thought of trading his captain this offseason. But only 10 days later, an in-person meeting with Tkachuk in New Jersey took a turn. The 26-year-old requested a trade.

The Senators GM said, “I think for me I was always fully supportive and wanting to make it work long term,” Tkachuk had two more years remaining on his current contract, “I think it became clear as the season went on this year that maybe something was amiss, and that had changed, but up until that point I would have loved to have seen it through with Brady. Believe we have a very good team, and we’re moving in the right direction.”

Staios went on to mention, “I think as the year went on, for me, I could clearly see that Brady was a bit of a different player from the year before, so probably not overly surprised at that point, you know. What did I wish it was different, we could find a way to move forward. He’s a good player, but that wasn’t the case, and moved on.”

When pressed further for the reason for Tkachuk’s request, the Staios added, “We had good discussions. I think that’s probably better for Brady to answer at the point in time when I made aware that there is going to be a transaction. I engaged in a process to do what’s best for the Ottawa Senators and try and find the best deal available for
us.”

Staios made a point of stating the process was very professional and wants to insure his team still maintains high aspirations.

“There was no animosity to this, this is part of the process, the player had no-move clause, and we did what we needed to do in this transaction to give ourselves an opportunity to move forward with the group, and I have no intention of this group taking a step back.”

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While it was widely reported, Tkachuk made a request of four clubs of which he would accept a trade, the Senators GM made it clear, Florida was always the preferred destination.

“The dynamic of a no-trade clause changes how the transaction works, and how it’s going to look. Clearly, it was pointed at one team at the end. I feel comfortable with the return with dealing with the circumstances that we did to get there. So it’s not like he was available to every team in the league. So that process sort of took hold as I went along with the number of teams, and it was clearly pointed to one team at the end of it.”

And that one team was ultimately the Panthers who sent Ottawa their 9th and 25th overall selections in this weekend’s Entry Draft, a 2029 top-ten protected first round and 2030 second round pick. If Florida somehow lands in the bottom 10 of the NHL standings in 2029, the pick slides to 2030.

What was interesting; the Panthers acquired the 25th 2026 pick earlier in the day in a swap with Seattle in exchange for forward Mackie Samoskevich.

There were rumblings, Staios had asked for centre Anton Lundell in the deal, but he’s satisfied to compile needed Draft collateral.

“As far as the return, would you like to get an impact player back in a deal like this? There’s a number of different ways you can get there. In the end, I feel like the draft capital and the assets that we return opens the door for us to do for many possibilities.”

Staios and his hockey ops staff are relishing the opportunity as to what those possibilities are.

The GM acknowleged he’s never been in this situation before, “It’s the first time that I’ve been in the situation. How’s that for time? It’s been robust since the deal has happened. Again, this team is moving in the right direction, I have no intention of this team taking a step back. We’re active and we’re open…I think that it is in play for sure (the no. 9). I don’t want anybody to be misled. I think if you see the transaction, you see the picks coming back, you wonder which direction the team’s going. I want to be clear, I don’t intend on taking a step back with this group like this one.”

One major positive if there is one after trading their captain, the swap was completed in ample time for Staios to scour the market prior to Friday’s opening round of the Draft. How the Senators GM parlays his newly-found assets remains to be seen, but Friday evening will definitely set this course for the team’s immediate future and beyond.