Senators' Brady Tkachuk: 'Fully committed' despite trade talk - ESPN

Brady Tkachuk said the constant trade rumors involving him have become a «distraction» for the Ottawa Senators captain.

«I feel like I've answered this hundreds of times. Quite honestly, it's just getting frustrating. It's becoming a distraction. I have been fully committed to this team, to this city. It's just becoming frustrating to deal with,» Tkachuk said in his postseason news conference.

Ottawa was swept in the first round by the Carolina Hurricanes. Tkachuk had 59 points in 60 games, including 22 goals, in the regular season. But he went without a point in the four games against Carolina, skating to a minus-4. Immediately after the Senators were eliminated, social media was flooded with speculation about Tkachuk's future, both from fans and insiders.

Tkachuk has played all NHL eight seasons in Ottawa, which drafted him fourth overall in 2018. He has two more years left on a seven-year contract that carries an $8,205,714 salary cap hit and has a full no-movement clause. Tkachuk is eligible to sign a contract extension in summer 2027.

Tkachuk said that despite making the decision to get rid of X, the «algorithms» on other sites deliver him speculation about his future even as he tries to avoid it.

«I don't get why it's a consistent thing. It's happened so many times personally, and it's frustrating to have to answer to something that's never been spoken out of my mouth or the team's mouth,» he said.

Tkachuk, 26, said he plans on having a postseason meeting with GM Steve Staios to discuss what the team needs to do to improve as well as what Tkachuk can do better.

«I don't think anybody is more frustrated with how everything went than me,» Tkachuk said. «At the end of the day, I didn't play good enough. I tried