The Ottawa Senators’ trade of Brady Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers earlier this summer has left the club without a captain for the first time since 2021. While Ottawa has previously shown a willingness to be patient in choosing who wears the “C,” going three seasons without a captain in the aftermath of the 2018 Erik Karlsson trade, it seems they won’t be waiting that long this time around. According to Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch, Senators GM Steve Staios and head coach Travis Green are “closing in on a decision on who will replace” Tkachuk as captain. Garrioch identified No. 1 center Tim Stutzle, No. 1 defenseman Jake Sanderson, and veteran blueliner Thomas Chabot as the “top three candidates for the post.”
Garrioch himself advocates for the appointment of Chabot as captain, writing that Chabot “has paid his dues and was viewed by many as a strong voice during Tkachuk’s five years in the role.” He added that “there is no player more committed to this franchise than Chabot.” The 29-year-old was a first-round pick of the Senators more than a decade ago, and has played all of his 569-game NHL career in the Canadian capital. Chabot became Ottawa’s No. 1 defenseman after the departure of Karlsson in 2018, and maintained that role for a half-decade before ceding No. 1 status to Sanderson in 2023-24. While contract status may favor the other two candidates, as Chabot’s $8MM AAV contract expires in the summer of 2028 (Stutzle and Sanderson are signed into the 2030s), it does appear Chabot is the most obvious fit to be the next captain.
Other notes from around the NHL:
The Hamilton Hammers, AHL affiliates of the New York Islanders, have signed free agent defenseman Chas Sharpe to a one-year AHL deal, reports Stefen Rosner of The Elmonters. The 22-year-old right-shot defenseman won’t have to travel far to join the Hammers, as he spent 2025-26 with the Toronto Marlies, winning a Calder Cup earlier this year. The 6’3″, 204-pound defenseman was a solid point producer in the OHL before turning pro in 2024-25. He spent his first professional campaign in the ECHL with the Cincinnati Cyclones, leading the league in goals by a defenseman with 25 in 63 games. He established himself as an AHL depth player in his sophomore campaign, and will look to build on his championship season with his new team in Hamilton.
The Minnesota Wild announced today that former University of North Dakota goaltender Peter Thome has been hired as the club’s full-time emergency backup goalie (EBUG). He will also join the staff of Minnesota’s hockey operations department in an analyst role. New league rules permit teams to carry full-time emergency backup goaltenders, with the idea being that increased investment will source netminders of superior playing ability to some of the part-time EBUGs seen in years past. Thome, 29, played 71 games of NCAA hockey across five seasons for North Dakota and the University of St. Thomas. He is a former college teammate of Wild defenseman Matt Kiersted. Before taking the role in Minnesota, Thome gained hockey operations experience in the AHL as video coach for the Coachella Valley Firebirds, as well as in junior hockey as director of hockey operations for the USHL’s Chicago Steel.