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Western Conference Team Named Perfect Fit for Senators' Brady Tkachuk

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Antonio Losada | Last updated Sep 24, 2025 1:25 PM ET

Daily Faceoff's Jeff Marek has floated a hypothetical scenario involving Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk.

Marek, describing a fantasy scenario on Tuesday's episode of "The Sheet" show, suggested that if he ever became available in the future, the Dallas Stars would be the team best positioned to pursue him in terms of fit.

The analyst emphasized that this was purely speculation, not a report of active trade discussions, making clear the fit would be perfect between the Western Conference contenders and Tkachuk.

“Ottawa Senators fans: I don’t think this is happening right now, so just like, everybody calm down,” Marek said. “But if Brady Tkachuk was ever available — I know there’s always noise about (the New York) Rangers — Dallas is the team.”

"If Brady Tkachuk was ever available… I think they’d move heaven and earth"@JeffMarek and @wyshynski break down the Stars’ pursuit of the kind of gritty, high-impact players Jim Nill has always sought, like Sam Bennett and Mathieu Olivier...#TexasHockey #TheSheet pic.twitter.com/BVuB0hBZjI
— The Sheet with Jeff Marek (@thesheethockey) September 23, 2025

Added Marek: “I think they'd move heaven and earth for someone like Brady. These types of players is what Dallas is looking for.”

Marek pointed to Dallas’ long-standing interest in physical, high-impact forwards, highlighting general manager Jim Nill’s history of targeting players with that profile, such as the Florida Panthers' Sam Bennett and the Columbus Blue Jackets' Mathieu Olivier.

After three consecutive trips to the Western Conference finals ending in losses, the Stars could add a top-six forward to complement Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz to make the final jump and get into the Stanley Cup Final once and for all.

For now, though, Tkachuk appears firmly entrenched in Ottawa.

The 26-year-old Senators captain is signed through 2027–28 on a seven-year, $57.5 million contract, and he has repeatedly voiced confidence in the Senators’ direction. As training camp opened this week, he raised the bar for team expectations.

“Playoffs is great, but it’s not about just getting in the playoffs anymore,” Tkachuk said. “Probably the best I’ve felt,” he added after a summer of full training.

Tkachuk led Ottawa in scoring during last season’s playoff run, their first in eight years, and said the team’s first-round exit to Toronto will only serve as fuel entering the 2025-26 season.

“We didn’t get the job done, but I think we’re going to take these lessons and be that much better because of it,” Tkachuk said.

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

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