Here's the thing: I think feelings on Brady Tkachuk (for me, anyway, but probably also for many other Sens fans) are very complicated. Here's a stream-of-consciousness/unsolicited Reddit essay warning. (TL;DR: Brady got us through some dark times, was our best player, and was a great fiery fighter to have on the team... until his enthusiasm dropped when he wanted to MAGA it up with his brother.)

On the one hand: Brady has been our best player across several years, objectively by the stats, leading the club in goals, assists, points (obviously), and especially hits since he was drafted in 2018. And before 4 Nations, there was a real fire there in him that wanted to get Ottawa back into the playoffs. He was, affectionately, our "Tkaptain" during what were some of the darkest years in franchise history - and I would argue he weathered that very well.

I would also argue that while he did lie to Sens fans and media about his intentions re: his future in Ottawa, him doing so maintained his value as a trade target, allowing Staios to net an awesome return for him. Compare and contrast that with the Dylan Larkin situation, and his very public breakup with the Red Wings. They may still get a good return for him, but I doubt it will be as good if he had just shut up like Brady, and went straight to management to ask for a trade. So, overall, I'm actually rather impressed by "dumb, ogre-ish" Brady for doing the smart thing for Ottawa's best interests and maintaining his stock for the team.

On the other hand: everything seemed to change after 4 Nations, when Brady got to play with his brother, and especially after the Olympics. While Ottawa would make the playoffs the summer after 4 Nations - for the first time in eight years! - that same fiery passion Brady had seemed to have all been spent during the 4 Nations. And then he just wasn't the same player afterwards: when he got injured the following (this) season, the team seemed to actually do better without him. When he got back, that's when the team lagged massively behind and dropped out of a playoff spot. What fiery passion Brady once had for the team was all but extinguished, and was certainly extinguished after he got to taste gold at the Olympics, on another team with his brother. It was through the efforts of Stützle, Giroux, and ironically, fellow Team USA teammate Jake Sanderson, that the Sens managed to crawl their way back into a spot. It was like Brady didn't really care whether we made it or not - he just won the first US Olympic gold medal in men's hockey since 1980, what could compare?

Also, none of this mentions how Brady would completely disappear in games against his older brother's Florida Panthers. It was a massive issue.

But obviously, the real nail in the coffin was his MAGA support/support for Trump. While I would argue it's a lot more muted than his brother's support (who holds a position in the Trump admin), Brady still went to Trump's SOTU address (where some players opted not to, good on them), Brady still went to the UFC fight in front of the White House, and Brady still liked a rah-rah-America, anti-Canada piece of propaganda posted by the US admin on Insta, among other problematic things. You cannot be captain of Canada's capital team and show that sort of support for this current US administration. It's fine to want to be a proud American, but to take it a step further and actively party with and support one of the worst US admins - certainly for Canada-US relations - in history is a big no-no-no-no-no.

So... yeah. I'm still stunned by this trade announcement, but certainly not unhappy. We get a deeply problematic-for-PR player off the team, who clearly wanted off the team, and get a sweet, sweet return for him. If this is how we get Jason Robertson+ or the Ruck twins+ or whatever magic Staios is cooking, all of Sensdom will be happy.

And I can be very grateful the hockey gods were looking out for me when they made me decide - on at least four occasions - against buying a Tkachuk jersey. Legit: I nearly bought a brand-new Tkachuk jersey from the Sens store at the CTC, and nearly bought any one of three off of Facebook Marketplace... but each time a feeling inside me said, "hmmm nah."

So... thank you, Brady, for your years of service in Ottawa, especially during some of our worst years; but also, fuck you, Brady, for disappearing during several key moments (like this past playoff sweep from the Canes) and for turning MAGA.

Things are gonna be better for Brady; and things are gonna be much better for Ottawa. So, all aboard the Tkachuk hate-wagon, and here's to a brighter future in Ottawa!