While cap space is not part of the dynamic in Tkachuk’s negotiations - the Senators have the NHL’s lowest payroll without him on the roster - there must be consideration for deals Josh Norris, Tim Stützle, Shane Pinto and others will need in the near future. That declaration was made before the pandemic and before the Senators had serious trouble drawing fans to the Canadian Tire Centre during the pre-season. There is also the question in Ottawa of whether owner Eugene Melnyk will make good on his promise to spend close to the salary cap for what he predicted would be a “five-year run of unparalleled success” from 2021 to 2025. Then you’ve got to pay the talent fair-market rate while trying to leave enough room to field a competitive team around them. What the impasse highlights is the challenges inherent in the ascent.Ī rebuild requires all useful assets to be converted into a pool of young talent, a process the Senators embarked on following an unexpected trip to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final in 2017.

Tkachuk is important enough to the organization that he would almost certainly have a C sewn on his sweater in conjunction with putting his signature on a long-term contract, but so far his camp has shown more of an inclination toward something shorter. The new era begins inauspiciously, with Brady Tkachuk unavailable for Thursday’s season opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs because of a contract stalemate. “The rebuild is done,” Dorion said in September. Over the coming months, the Senators will reveal if general manager Pierre Dorion was correct in announcing his rebuild completed. This hockey season is a referendum on one thing in Ottawa.

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