5 Dream Trade Landing Spots for Senators Captain Brady Tkachuk amid NHL Rumors (2024)

Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk's name keeps surfacing in trade speculation despite the fact he is considered one of the team's core players, is signed long-term, and is still very much in the prime of his career with several years of outstanding hockey ahead of him.

And he is probably telling the truth. It would also probably take a monster offer to get the Senators to willingly part with Tkachuk, outside of him demanding a trade.

But even with that, let's still try to dream up some dream, hypothetical scenarios that could make sense.

After all, as good as Tkachuk is and as opposed to a trade as the front office might seem, this is still a team that took a step backward this season and remains very stagnant in its rebuild. It has to change something at some point.

So let's dream a little.

Whether it is a player like Tkachuk or somebody else, Utah should be going all in on trying to find a home run this offseason. Everything about the situation is screaming for a blockbuster, franchise-altering trade.

After years of financial and ownership issues in Arizona, they might have an opportunity to operate like a real, functioning NHL franchise, they have salary-cap space at their disposal, and they are going to be trying to build a fan base in a new market.

There is a strong core of young talent already in place, but they really need something big to bring it all together.

They also have what could be an extremely valuable trade chip to deal from with the No. 6 overall pick.

As tempting as it would be to keep that pick, it is far from a guarantee to produce a star and could be a key piece of a trade to land a top-line player right now. Obviously, there would need to be more involved, but Utah is loaded with draft capital and should have the motivation to go all in for somebody.

While Tkachuk's name has been dismissed in trade rumors, Carolina has a young star forward in Martin Nečas -- a pending restricted free agent due for a significant pay raise -- who might be available.

So how about both teams getting together and making something work here?

Given that Tkachuk is the better player the Hurricanes would almost certainly have to sweeten the pot along with Nečas, but it could be a potential starting point.

Tkachuk is also the type of player the Hurricanes might need to get over the hump in the Eastern Conference.

They keep running into a wall in the second and third rounds, with offense and goal-scoring tending to be a problem come playoff team. They need more difference-makers and top-tier goal-scorers that can fully take over a game. T

Tkachuk brings elements that the Hurricanes look for (possession-driving ability, an ability to get pucks on net) while also having the type of elite finishing they lack. Tkachuk has seen his goal numbers increase in the past four seasons, going from 17 to 30, to 35, to 37, all while shooting at around 10 percent. He is already great. With a little luck, he could have a 45 or 50-goal season on the horizon.

The Hurricanes desperately need that.

The New York Rangers are so close to being a championship team.

They finished with the league's best record and reached the Eastern Conference Final for the second time in three years, but fell short because they have the same flaws every year.

Almost all of them relate to their 5-on-5 play, in terms of scoring goals and tilting the ice in their favor. They are too dependent on their power play and goaltending to win which eventually catches up to them against the handful of teams that can match them (or better them) in talent.

Tkachuk would be an absolutely perfect fit for what they need to get over the hump.

The problem is that such a trade would require a LOT of creativity and money moved around.

The Rangers are already pinned to the top of the league's salary cap and have some massive contracts on their roster. But the salary cap has never stopped the creative teams from getting the player they want or need. Where there is a will, there is usually a way.

Realistic? Maybe not. Easy to do? Certainly not. But we said we were going to dream landing spots and this would indeed be a dream for the Rangers. A big-name star with top-line production that also satisfies a lot of needs? That is indeed a dream.

The easy connection here is that Tkachuk's dad -- Keith Tkachuk -- spent the bulk of his career playing for the Blues and was a standout in St. Louis for nine seasons. Brady would only continue that legacy.

Blues general manager Doug Armstrong also has a tendency to go for big, blockbuster trades and this would certainly fit that mold.

The Blues are in a weird position right now because they are a step below the contenders and playoff teams in the Western Conference, but they are also not quite bad enough to fully commit to a rebuild.

Tkachuk is good enough and young enough -- and signed long enough -- that he could be a serious long-term piece, while also helping to improve the team in the short-term.

Would something centered around Jordan Kyrou or Robert Thomas interest the Senators? A good old-fashioned hockey trade?

Another team that is close, but also far away.

The Kings have established themselves as a consistent playoff team in the Western Conference -- and a good one -- but keep running into a problem. They can't of the first round or past the Edmonton Oilers.

They have a rock-solid team that does pretty much everything well with one big exception -- they do not score enough goals. Outside of Quinton Byfield, they also have not really had many of their top young prospects take any sort of a major step forward.

They need another impact player that can take over games or swing a game in their favor, especially as Anze Kopitar gets another year older and closer to retirement. Tkachuk would be an ideal fit for their style of play while also giving them the type of goal-scoring presence they are lacking.

The Kings finished this season 16th in goal scored, but progressively got worse as the season went on. They need more offense.