Why Senators can be optimistic, even without Brady Tkachuk

The post-Brady Tkachuk era has begun in Ottawa, where the Senators are moving on without their captain of the past five seasons. Though disappointing, Tkachuk’s departure for the rival Florida Panthers is not going to derail the Senators’ mission of reaching the playoffs for the third consecutive year. “I think we’ve progressed the last two seasons, for a lot of reasons,” Senators coach Travis Green told reporters. “Our players have improved. We’ve still got a relatively young group. I looked at our board the other day with the age of our players. I think they’ve all become better hockey players.…