On Saturday, the Ottawa Senators announced their alternate captains for the upcoming season.
They’re going with Thomas Chabot, Brady Tkachuk and Erik Gudbranson. No big surprises in that group.
Both Chabot and Tkachuk represent the young core of this team and by putting A’s on their sweaters, it’s a clear indication that this team is now in the hands of the young players.
Meanwhile, Erik Gudbranson gets a letter stitched onto his sweater before ever suiting up for a game in Sens colours. A tad premature perhaps but not a huge surprise when you consider Gudbranson’s reputation. He’s a highly respected player both on and off the ice and will be a solid veteran voice for both Tkachuk and Chabot to lean on.
So while there were few eyebrows raised after Saturday’s announcement, what it did was confirm what we already knew- the Ottawa Senators will not have a Captain again this season. Not since Erik Karlsson’s departure has someone officially worn the C in Ottawa and this confirms that it will be at least one more year before someone steps into the role.
At this point, everyone seems to agree that it’s either going to be Thomas Chabot or Brady Tkachuk. There are good arguments to be made for both guys but the organization is clearly in no rush to make that difficult decision.
In Chabot, you have a quiet leader. Composed on the ice and soft-spoken off of it. In his young career, his interactions with the media suggest he’s more than comfortable speaking on behalf of this young group and taking accountability when things are going poorly. The fact that he’s fluently bilingual and signed to a long-term deal strengthen his case.
Meanwhile in Tkachuk, you would be getting a leader in the more traditional sense. The type of player, that as he put it over the weekend, “drags guys into the fight”. He’ll say what needs to be said and then back it up with his play. It’s early in his NHL career but he seems to have that unique ability to make the players around him better. At the same time, some worry that wearing a letter might take away from that rambunctious/thorn-in-your-side style that makes him so effective.
Unlike Chabot, he has yet to sign a long-term extension with the Senators.
Loading …And while it seems far-fetched right now, Tim Stuetzle has demonstrated that he too has some of those qualities you look for in a Captain.
And so the Senators have elected to kick this down the road a little bit.
Bruce Garrioch wrote on this topic a couple times over the last few months and he has gone back and forth a little bit on which way he thinks the organization is leaning. Initially he thought it was Chabot for sure but when I talked to him about it on Episode 10 of the The SensChirp Podcast, he seemed to be leaning towards Tkachuk.
The thing is, for Coaches and Management, it should ultimately be a pretty easy choice. While both Chabot and Tkachuk are more than capable of taking the role on, the right choice will ultimately emerge over the course of this upcoming season. While teams make decisions like this on a range of factors, internally, it’s usually pretty clear who is right for the job.
Leaders shouldn’t be selected. They should emerge. By the end of this season, players, coaches and management will know who it should be.
By putting the A on their sweaters this season, the Senators are sending a clear message to both Thomas Chabot and Brady Tkachuk that they are expected to take on a leadership role with this team.
We’ll see which guy steps up this season.
