The problem here is the laughable concept that Brady and Jack are comparable assets.
Hischier (now) would be a more fitting comp to brady in the offseason, although he plays a much more valuable position and makes a million dollars less.
And the other biiig reason there’s no comparable (to Jack OR to Hischier) is because New Jersey is actually a good team in a compete window right now and would seek to add players in their prime right now rather than subtract them.
Ottawa is a team that looks to still not be in a compete window yet, and such a team is often in a position to dish off its prime-age assets when they’re at their most valuable, for younger assets or futures to try to have those hit their primes when the team enters a compete window.
I’m a fan of both teams (Devils #1, Sens #2, live near Ottawa and theirs are the only home games I attend) so I’m not throwing shade on either. It’s just a case of team timelines. If Ottawa was currently comfortably in playoff position and New Jersey was struggling in their division basement with little immediate hope, I’d be suggesting the same principles with the teams reversed - again, the team in the window should trade futures for prime age talent, the team struggling should trade prime age talent for a younger core.
I no longer believe Ottawa will compete with Tkachuk as their leader and I think their best bet is to get top value for him while he’s in his prime and aim to build a team around a core of players in the Stutzle-to-Yakemchuk age range. And I don’t think there’ll be a better time to get top dollar for Tkachuk than this year.