Rangers GM ‘infatuated with Brady Tkachuk,’ but are trade rumors real?
Whether fair or not, the New York Rangers have a long history of being connected to Brady Tkachuk in trade rumors. Expect those rumors to heat up even more now that Tkachuk and the Ottawa Senators were swept out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round. With the Rangers looking to jumpstart their retool under general manager Chris Drury , and the Senators frustrated with a second straight first-round postseason defeat, perhaps there’s a match, a deal to be made by the Eastern Conference foes.
Newsday beat reporter Colin Stephenson believes it’s something Drury wishes to explore, but ultimately wouldn’t be able to push across the finish line “He wants to get grittier and tougher. He’s been infatuated with Brady Tkachuk for a number of years now, and that seems to be the kind of player he wants to acquire,” Stephenson told Forever Blueshirts on the Rink Rap podcast recently. “Whether it’s actually Brady Tkachuk, I can’t imagine how that could come about unless Brady forces his way out of Ottawa.
I just don’t see the Senators giving up on him. ” Of course, his take was before the Hurricanes swept the Senators in four games, Tkachuk failed to record a point in the series, despite leading the Senators with 11 shots on goal and averaging 21:21 TOI. Ottawa’s 26-year-old captain was fourth on the team with 13 hits, though his 9.
06 hits per 60 minutes was only ninth best on the Senators. He did have a 51. 36 percent expected goal share 5v5 in the series, per Natural Stat Trick .
But in the end, Carolina outscored Ottawa 3-0 with him on the ice 5v5. And in the 4-2 Game 4 loss, Tkachuk’s xGF was under 48 percent. and he managed one shot on goal — his only shot attempt in a must-win game.
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