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Brady Tkachuk Receives Unfortunate News After Senators Clinch Playoffs

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Sean Treppedi | Last updated Apr 9, 2025 3:14 PM ET

The Ottawa Senators will be participating in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2017.

As they hold onto the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, the Senators have four games left to play, starting with the Montreal Canadiens on Friday, who trail them by four points in the second wild card position.

Senators captain Brady Tkachuk has been the team's most effective force in climbing the franchise back to relevancy this season.

Tkachuk leads the club with 29 goals and has 55 points in 71 games, though he has missed the last five with an upper-body injury since enduring an interference hit from Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Ryan Graves on March 30.

But when Senators president of hockey operations and general manager Steve Staios was asked if Tkachuk would be ready for playoffs if they began tomorrow on Wednesday, he said, "I can’t give you a definitive [answer].”

"He continues to progress,” Staios said to NHL.com. “Now that we've clinched a playoff spot, I think every team goes through these discussions. Like, what is the best situation? Do you rest players? How do you manage that? We haven't figured that part out yet, but to me, you always want to keep the team moving along and competing at a high level to roll into the playoffs at the right time. But certainly, those will be discussions that we'll have, as far as lineup for the last four games."

In seven NHL seasons, Tkachuk has never played in a playoff series.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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