Brady Tkachuk Not Bothered By Trade Rumors Linking Him To Rangers

Brady Tkachuk has finally spoken out about the rumors linking him to the New York Rangers.

Last week, Larry Brooks of The New York Times reported the Rangers have made Ottawa Senators forward Tkachuk their primary target.

Senators owner Michael Andlauer made clear that there is no truth to this report and Tkachuk shared a similar sentiment when discussing the matter at hand.

“It’s stuff that I can’t control so, to be honest with you, it doesn’t really bother me because it’s coming from a place where it’s not true,” Tkachuk said via Bruce Garrioch of The Ottawa Citizen. “It just speaks to the leadership we have in this organization with Mr. Andlauer and Steve.”

The 25-year-old became the Senators’ captain in 2021 and has been the centerpiece of the team’s rebuild for many years.

Tkachuk expressed his desire to remain in Ottawa long into the future despite the constant trade rumors involving him.

“The reason I signed a seven-year deal is because I believe in this team, in what we’re doing and I believe in everybody,” Tkachuk said. “Not just in this room, but everybody in this building that we’re pushing in the right direction. I signed here for seven years because I love playing here.”

Tkachuk also confirmed that he had a conversation with Senators general manager Steve Staios about these recent reports and Staios made clear that he was not planning on shopping Tkachuk.

“Steve called me and I think he was pretty frustrated,” Tkachuk said. “To be honest, I didn’t even see it so I had no idea why was calling me. It meant a lot for him to address it with me individually and just say there was 0% accuracy to the (report) that came out. I told him it doesn’t really frustrate me, but I appreciated his call.”

Meanwhile, the Rangers are fresh off trading their captain, Jacob Trouba, to the Anaheim Ducks, so there is a lot going on in New York.

Rangers general manager Chris Drury said that he is still open to making moves, although he wants to let the dust settle from the Trouba trade and all the outside noise surrounding the franchise.

Just because the Senators are not looking to trade Tkachuk, doesn't change anything about the Rangers’ interest in the emerging star.