Player Discussion Brady Tkachuk (LW) - Part XI

[Tuna99]

Not really. This isn’t McDavid or Crosby we’re talking about. Only Sens fans have this deep insecurity of players leaving.

HAD the insecurities.

 

[Relapsing]

Hilarious - just saw Brady taking his kid for a walk!

 

[Golden_Jet]

Hilarious - just saw Brady taking his kid for a walk!

You probably mean for a stroller push, his kid is what 8 months old now.

 

[bicboi64]

You probably mean for a stroller push, his kid is what 8 months old now.

Them Tkachuk kids are built different

 

[Relapsing]

You probably mean for a stroller push, his kid is what 8 months old now.

Ha! For sure.

 

[Bileur]

Honestly...I'll agree with this. Brady is definitely growing on me, and proving he deserves that C. I think, as fans, we need to grow, too. Ottawa may not be New York or have the Cali beaches, but we're a good city and hockey town. Time to have some confidence in this market and ownership group.

We don't need to beg anyone to stay here anymore.

I’m not going to critique how anyone wants to live their fandom, but I don’t think it’s about begging him to stay.

Deserved or not Ottawa fans have a fickle reputation and it would be great to shed it. There is a long standing history of this city’s media and fanbase picking a whipping boy, shredding them and running them out of town. It’s a nasty habit which I’d love to see broken.

I think a large part of that trickles down from the top and relates to previous ownership being too cheap to give players what they deserve (in salary and ancillary benefits) and then running smear campaigns on players who wouldn’t take crumbs to stay. It lead to fans hesitating to attach to guys. I believe that is definitely over now with Andlauer. My kids can go all in on our stars and if they produce, the owner will do everything in his power to keep them as long they’re willing to stay.

I believe the players who left because they didn’t like Ottawa were a minority, there were other issues at play.

Andlauer is addressing each issue one by one and eliminating excuses and distractions which hinder performance and appreciation for the franchise. The training facilities have been improved, the room has been improved, the alumni experience has been improved, the kitchen (for players) has been improved. On the fan side, fan experience has been significantly improved, community outreach and bridge building has been improved, look how much more present the players are in the community at events and on random podcasts. Heck he even hired Mendes who has always had his finger on the pulse of the fanbase like no other media member. People need to embrace this huge shift.

Part of Ottawa coming into its own as a sports city is indeed having confidence in the City, but it’s also wearing your heart on your sleeve and standing by the team and players.

That doesn’t mean we have to have blind homerism, but I hope we’re mature enough to understand when a player is giving all they have, performing to expectation, and give them support for it. We’re a great sports city and it’s time we wear it proudly.

I think there was a clear push from the team to remind the fans of this city of its greatness leading up to the playoffs and during the playoffs, all those player interviews challenging the fans and pumping their tires were great. Our captain, who is (or will soon be) one of the best in the league was a huge part of that.

It feels like a purposeful franchise rehab campaign, I’m all in on the franchise and on the captain.

 

[aragorn]

Tkachuk is a great player & great captain, exactly the kind of player this franchise has always needed & players will follow.

 

[Ice-Tray]

I get emails all the time now from the Sens thanking me for being a fan, and sending me promo codes for tickets and deals on merch.

I live across the country!

This never happened before

 

[bicboi64]

I get emails all the time now from the Sens thanking me for being a fan, and sending me promo codes for tickets and deals on merch.

I live across the country!

This never happened before

Same, I keep getting Sens Student Army emails and its been almost a decade since I lived in Ottawa. Also got like 3 follow up emails from the person who helped me get grouped tickets for a game in November telling me about special pricing. The organization is night and day when it comes to reaching out to fans

 

[JungleBeat]

Deserved or not Ottawa fans have a fickle reputation and it would be great to shed it. There is a long standing history of this city’s media and fanbase picking a whipping boy, shredding them and running them out of town. It’s a nasty habit which I’d love to see broken.

Oh give me a break. Ottawa has the most tame fanbase amongst Canadian teams by a long shot. Players leave because 1: The team is crap and 2: They want to cash in on money.

 

[Bileur]

Oh give me a break. Ottawa has the most tame fanbase amongst Canadian teams by a long shot. Players leave because 1: The team is crap and 2: They want to cash in on money.

I’m genuinely surprised by your response.

There’s always a whipping boy in this town.

 

[Hotsam Batcho]

I’m genuinely surprised by your response.

There’s always a whipping boy in this town.

I think Ottawa fans probably show the most appreciation to their players amongst all Canadian franchises.

I don't remember any fanbase other than maybe Montreal chanting the teams captains name as often and as loud as Ottawa does.