This is a big factor that I think will lead to him getting traded before July 1st.
If he stays beyond July 1st, he doesn't really have 3 seasons left with the Senators because every season that goes by with this team still being a shit show increases the odds that a star like him would ask out, and the closer he gets to being a free agent (1 year, 2 years, etc), along with his NMC (I'll give you 3 teams now, but 1 team if you wait), he would have the leverage to force a trade.
It might end up being a blessing in disguise that we are bad this season if it expedites a retool before his NMC. The last thing we needed was for this team to be a flash in the pan, we keep Brady beyond his NMC, and then after a bad 2025-2026 and 2026-27 we lost him for nothing relative to his value. Of course the best case scenario would have been this team being legitimate and showing they could be a playoff team going forward - but I am not referring to that.
By moving him before his NMC kicks in, we could possibly get a piece or pieces that helps this team for the next 5-10 years. Once his NMC kicks in, we're not getting that. We're getting a late 1st, a roster player, and a couple of B or C prospects.
In a perfect world, our rebuild would have worked out and they would have built a statue of Brady in the Byward Market, but I think people have to accept that probably won't happen.