Earlier this season, New York Post writer Larry Brooks insinuated that the New York Rangers were linked to the Ottawa Senators' Captain, Brady Tkachuk. Owner Michael Andlauer and Steve Staios took exception to that, and Tkachuk confirmed his intentions to stay in Ottawa during exit interviews.![Brady Tkachuk]()
The Ottawa Senators were an early exit from this year's Stanley Cup playoffs after losing the Battle of Ontario to the Maple Leafs.
After all is said and done for the Senators this season, Brady Tkachuk wanted to reaffirm to fans of the Senators during exit interviews, he intends to remain with the team that drafted him.
Here he is once again shooting down Larry Brooks's false narrative we saw spread early this year.
«Obviously it's a lie,» Tkachuk said. «All those articles, stories It's just not true. But I think it's on me if I let that bother me or take me off what I'm trying to do. Everyone knows that I'll do whatever it takes to win. Seeing this fan base, this excitement, see how much they rallied around us, everybody's waiting for it. Everybody wants to accomplish the same thing and win the Stanley Cup.»
The Rangers would later be accused of "soft-tampering" by Andlauer, and would defer to the commissioner's office in the hopes of saving face, considering the damage the lie did across the league.
«This is an irresponsible accusation, and we defer to the commissioner's office,» a Rangers spokesperson said in reply to Andlauer's comment.
Tkachuk led the Senators to their first playoff berth in eight years, while the Rangers under Peter Laviolette declined in production and in the standings.
A cruel fate for a Rangers team who were supposed to be Stanley Cup contenders.
In 72 games this season, Brady Tkachuk scored 55 points (29 goals, 26 assists), with the Senators.
