5 Trade Landing Spots for Brady Tkachuk Amid NHL Rumors

The Ottawa Senators have put themselves in a great position to return to the Stanley Cup playoffs for the second year in a row, but even that midseason turnaround has not been enough to quiet the trade rumors involving Brady Tkachuk.

Even though Tkachuk is the team captain, having another strong season in Ottawa, signed long-term, and coming off a gold-medal-winning performance at the Winter Olympics, there is still plenty of uncertainty surrounding his future with the Senators. Much of that speculation stems from public comments by his family.

The latest round of rumors was kicked up when his dad, Keith Tkachuk, and brother Matthew Tkachuk were critical of Brady's ice-time dropping by a full minute this season. They were also critical of Senators head coach Travis Green on the Wingmen podcast (h/t Ankit Kumar of The Big Lead).

Brady did not join in on the critical commentary, but if family members are speaking out about these things, there is at least some reason to believe he feels the same way.

Does that mean he is going to ask for a trade? No. Does it mean the Senators are going to move him this summer? Also no. Perhaps even more emphatically no. But it is still something that is producing some speculation.

So let's talk about five potential teams that could make sense if the Senators decided to trade their captain.

Carolina Hurricanes

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The Carolina Hurricanes are the same team they always are.

They are a legitimate Stanley Cup contender once again. They also play the same relentless forechecking, suffocating defensive style that has made them such a consistently good team for the better part of the past decade.

But do they have enough star power to get over the top and enough impact scoring depth to beat the truly elite teams in the NHL? That always seems to be their downfall in the later rounds of the playoffs.

They have been extremely aggressive in going for big names in recent years, and with multiple first-round draft picks and some good young talent to deal from, they could find a way to make this work.

The concern might be that Tkachuk only has two more years remaining on his contract, but that would still be two kicks at the Stanley Cup.

Tkachuk also would seem to be a great stylistic fit for Carolina's game.

Chicago Blackhawks

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The Chicago Blackhawks are going into year four of the Connor Bedard era, and in some ways, they are just as bad as they were the year before they drafted him.

While there is a ton of young talent on the roster and in the prospect pool, the Blackhawks can not fall into the trap of just waiting for them all to succeed, because not all of them will.

Some will flourish. Some will get injured. Some will fail to develop. Some will just not be as good as the team hopes.

There is more to building a winning team than just getting a No. 1 overall pick and waiting for your young players to develop. At some point, you need to complement them with established players already in their prime.

The Blackhawks need to start doing that. Given their draft pick capital and prospect pool, as well as the fact that they have plenty of salary-cap space and almost no major long-term investments, they should be in the market for any top-line player who might become available this summer. That would include Tkachuk.

New York Rangers

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Even though the New York Rangers told their fans another retool is on the way, that does not necessarily mean a full-scale rebuild is on the horizon. Especially if an in-prime star forward became available.

The Rangers need more impact players and somebody to give them some sort of an identity. Tkachuk could be that type of player, and he would almost certainly become an even bigger star playing in one of the NHL's biggest markets.

Despite Tkachuk only playing in 58 games this season, his point total (58) would still be the second-highest total of any Rangers forward.

There is also always the chance that Tkachuk, given his shot volume and possession-driving ability, could still have a monster goal-scoring season in his future with just a little shooting percentage luck. The Rangers could use that as well.

Pittsburgh Penguins

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Now, this is an interesting one.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have completely rewritten the script on their short-term (and potentially long-term) outlook and put themselves back into the Stanley Cup playoffs.

They are good right now and still have their future Hall of Fame players performing at a high level. They also have an infusion of young talent starting to make an impact in the NHL with center Ben Kindel and winger Egor Chinakhov, plus more prospects waiting in the wings, including potential starting goalie Sergei Murashov.

They also still have a need for a younger, in-prime star.

The good news: They are loaded with salary-cap space, draft pick capital and a much better prospect pool than they had even 18 months ago.

General manager Kyle Dubas figures to be aggressive this offseason. While they have been connected to Dallas Stars forward Jason Robertson, do not rule them out of making a play for any top-line player who is available.

Washington Capitals

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The Washington Capitals took a frustrating step backward this year and have some big questions to answer in the offseason.

Analytically, this was not a bad team. Their 5-on-5 metrics were mostly strong; they are outscoring their opponents for the season, and there are some good pieces in place.

Their special teams ruined most of their season.

They could also use another big-time offensive talent, especially with Alex Ovechkin's future in question. Even if he does return, he is no longer the guy to carry an offense the way he did at his peak.

This is not necessarily a tear-it-all-down situation, and if the Capitals have a means to add a 27-year-old, top-line player signed to a fairly reasonable contract, they should go for it.