OTTAWA — Will he stay or will he go?

That’s what the talk will be surrounding Brady Tkachuk until there’s a resolution. 

He might not like it — and he said as much on Wednesday, when speaking to the media — but it’s going to happen.

It was a tumultuous year for Tkachuk, from a thumb injury in the third game of the season to achieving his dream of winning a gold medal, being the centre of online attention, becoming a podcaster and becoming a father for the second time, as his daughter Lyla was just born days ago. 

Nevertheless, the “outside forces” of online aggregators and certain fans — especially outside of Ottawa — have been beating the drum of the song “he gone.”

“I feel like I’ve answered this hundreds of times,” said Tkachuk. “That none of that, I’ve never shown, I’ve never said, none of those things ever came out of my mouth. Quite honestly, it’s just getting frustrating. It’s becoming a distraction. I have been fully committed to this team, this city.”

His frustration was palpable when asked about his future.

“I don’t really, honestly, I don’t get why it’s a consistent thing, and it’s happened so many times, personally, and it’s frustrating,” he said.

We know why. It’s because Tkachuk is a player, as Ottawa head coach Travis Green said earlier this week, who 31 other teams would love to have. His mix of size, skill, brute force and infectious energy make him a hockey unicorn. 

He has two seasons remaining until he’s an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2028. 

“The extension talk is … it’s a year away, so that’s something that you physically can’t even do anytime soon,” he said. “I just will talk to (general manager) Steve (Staios), when we have that conversation (on) where he views our team, what he thinks we need to improve on. … I’m excited to hear Steve’s thoughts.” 

Tkachuk ended his media availability by going out of his way to thank Senators fans.

He said all the right things and dismissed any notion of him asking out.

Tkachuk is beloved by many Ottawa fans. He’s been a part of many charitable endeavours, giving his time and money to Ottawa over the years. Ask people behind the scenes in Ottawa, and he’s known for how kind he is to Senators’ staff and fans;  he’s committed. 

At the same time, on Wednesday Tkachuk never uttered a version of what his teammate Jordan Spence said the other day: “I want to be here.” 

The Senators captain could have and chose not to. If you squint hard enough, he sounded a little like the politicians who inhabit this city. Sometimes it’s as much what you don’t say as what you do.

For Sens fans, these discussions about another marquee player’s future in Ottawa are PTSD-inducing. 

They’ve seen Erik Karlsson, Alexei Yashin, Dany Heatley, Mark Stone and Jason Spezza all walk out the door of the Canadian Tire Centre. 

Brady isn’t his brother Matthew: he chose to stay long term in Ottawa in 2021. However, the world has changed and the politics of a Team USA star playing in Canada weren’t the same back then.

On the positive side, the Senators’ future seems bright with Tim Stutzle, Jake Sanderson and the plethora of young talent in Dylan Cozens, Shane Pinto and Thomas Chabot, despite the early exit from the playoffs two years in a row.

And Ottawa fans routinely chant “Brady! Brady! Brady!” But if you looked at Twitter/X comments … well, Tkachuk said he’s left the social media platform because of all the vitriol.

“It’s tough. Sometimes the algorithms, you can’t control it, you just see it. And honestly, that’s for me, the way I kind of handle that is to get off Twitter,” he said. 

In January, Tkachuk’s personal life was part of unfair and unsubstantiated social media rumours. You feel for him. 

The Twitter/X trolls and online discourse hasn’t helped. 

And many people have criticized Tkachuk’s play this season, seeing a lack of commitment that contrasted with his run with Team USA. 

“That was really challenging,” he said. “To be honest with you, come off such a high and then we go right on the road out west, (it) was tough.”

But the truth is, Tkachuk was almost a point-per-game player this season, even with a bummed thumb that limited his ability to get rough — something that has always energized the captain emotionally. 

“Being able to fight again, I feel like I was able to truly be myself,” he said about the latter part of the season after his injury had healed. “I didn’t like having my hands tied when I wasn’t able to fight.” 

That said, Tkachuk was pedestrian in the playoffs, failing to register a point. 

“(I) want to be a playoff player and, for me, I just wasn’t good enough,” said Tkachuk. 

In the end, the Senators need more from their captain and he needs more from his front office if the marriage can stay together. 

“I think, every year, we have taken steps,” said Tkachuk, on how close this team is to being a Stanley Cup contender.

Staios is in an unenviable position because the time is now with Tkachuk and the rest of his young core. If Staios can make the right moves this off-season, the Senators could become a Cup contender, and that would make it easier to re-sign Tkachuk.  

The best way to pitch yourself to anyone is winning. 

However, Staios has to ask Tkachuk, honestly and directly, whether he sees himself in Ottawa after 2028.  Staios was asked this week whether he would have a discussion with Tkachuk about his future this summer.

“There’s nothing that we have talked about or thought about where that conversation should happen,” Staios said, later adding, “It is what it is, and it depends on what week and what fan base it’s coming from. So, I don’t read it. I don’t bother with it.”

His captain does read it and is bothered with it, though. 

We are dubious that Staios won’t have that discussion with his captain, but we understand why the general manager wants to quiet the public drama. 

To lose Tkachuk for nothing would be shades of Mitch Marner in Toronto. It would set the entire franchise back. If Tkachuk is coy, that’s where this situation gets really difficult for Staios. 

Every analytic would have told you that the Senators were an elite team this season, if not a Stanley Cup-calibre team. Staios could very reasonably believe — even with uncertainty surrounding Tkachuk’s future — that next season the Senators could join the contention bracket of the NHL. Let’s say the Senators make the conference finals or even finals, it would give the Senators a better chance of keeping their captain past 2028.

You wonder if Tkachuk does extend, whether it’s a Connor McDavid-esque short-term two- or three-year contract. 

At the same time, if the Senators struggle and bounce out early in the playoffs, then all bets are off. 

If, for whatever reason, Staios feels forced to trade his captain next off-season, then he will get pennies on the dollar compared to this summer because Tkachuk has a no-move clause and will likely decide his next destination himself. 

The Senators have a bright future, but that light will shine or dim for years to come, depending on what transpires with their captain. 

We don’t know what Tkachuk will do, but we do know the drama surrounding his future is just getting started.