Captain Tkachuk Is Going To Lead The Ottawa Senators To Greatness
Things in Ottawa have obviously been rather...oh how do I put this...super shitty(?) since the Ottawa Senators were just one win away from advancing to the Stanley Cup Final in 2017. There was the Karlsson and Hoffman drama. Losing practically everybody on that team less than 2 seasons later. The infamous "we're a team" quote from Pierre Dorion. Owner Eugene Melnyk being a complete and total putz. Finishing in the basement of the league with a sub-.500 record every year since.
So yeah. Not a great 4-5 years for the Sens. But things are looking up. Maybe not immediately. The Sens are right back where they've been for a while now in 7th place in the Atlantic Division. They're 3-6-1 through their first 10 games so far this year. But they're young, they're pesky, and they're just a few more pieces away from having something.
The biggest thing you need for a team that is almost there but still not seeing the results in the standings is an identity. Something for the team to keep working towards even the wins aren't coming as quickly as they'd hope. A team like that without an identity can fall apart real quick (sorry to keep picking on Buffalo). So what better identity to adopt than an annoying piece of shit prick who you can't stand playing against because you know he's going to be an absolute bastard every time he's out there on the ice, and oh yeah he can score too?
Sure, he's got a few rat-like tendencies. But he's everything you'd want out of a captain of an ascending team. The kind of guy who you know is going to bring it every night, is always going to defend his teammates, young, locked into a long-term contract, and it also doesn't hurt that he's a good ol' American boy.
I don't want to get too ahead of myself here but if they can find one or two more Stützle's to throw onto the roster, all of a sudden the Sens are on wagon watch. This team is so young. There's maybe 4 players over the age of 30, and like half the team is under 25. Those little shitheads are going to get real annoying real fast.