GARRIOCH: Ottawa Senators continue talks with Brady Tkachuk’s agents as camp begins

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Fifty-four players showed up for Ottawa Senators training camp on Wednesday, but there was no shortage of comment on the only ones who aren’t.

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As senators general manager Pierre Dorion and coach DJ Smith sat down with local media for a preseason opening question-and-answer period, there was no shortage of questions about contract talks with the restricted end of the league. free agency Brady Tkachuk.

Senators will hit the ice at the Canadian Tire Center on Thursday morning for the first time and. of course, the absence of Tkachuk will be noted. A couple of weeks ago, Dorion was hopeful in an interview that she would have made a deal in time to have the 22-year-old here, but that won’t be the case.

Dorion spoke with Toronto-based Tkachuk agents Craig Oster and Don Meehan on Wednesday to see if they can find common ground in a new deal.

“We know that Brady is a huge part of this team and this franchise,” said Dorion. “I have been through a lot of these negotiations. They are moving forward, we have discussed it every day. We know that Brady will sign.

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“When? I don’t think that’s for us to discuss and I don’t think it’s fair for us to talk more than we’ve been saying right now. We don’t negotiate through the media.”

As noted in this space, the senators are trying to ignore the noise and reach an agreement with the Tkachuk camp for the 22-year-old to return to the camp. Ideally, the organization would have already done it and everyone knows the importance of getting one of the best players in the club to come to camp.

Owner Eugene Melnyk and Dorion would like Tkachuk to sign a long-term contract and make him captain of the club. Senators have focused on that front in these discussions and the belief is that they presented an eight-year deal worth $ 8 million per season.

The indications are that the two sides are not very far apart in the term or the money in the deal, but they still have a bridge in the structure. If the senators and Tkachuk’s group cannot agree on an eight-year contract, they are expected to move to a shorter term to see if there is a solution they can work with.

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We’re not sure if the senators and Tkachuk camp are at that point yet, but the longer this goes on, it may be a route to making a deal to get it back on the ice.

There has been no animosity in these discussions because both parties understand that this is the business part of the game and that it must be resolved in order for Tkachuk to return to town. All it takes is one phone call to make a deal, which is why Dorion has been in daily contact with Newport Sports.

Dorion was asked to describe where the discussions are and if the two parties are close.

“They have been productive and positive, but there is still work to be done,” said Dorion.

In the past 24 hours, Minnesota restricted free agents Kirill Kaprizov (five years, $ 45 million) and Buffalo defender Rasmus Dahlin (three years, 18 million) have walked off the market. That leaves Tkachuk along with Vancouver’s Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes as the remaining three great RFAs.

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They are all skating together in Ann Arbor, Michigan at the moment and awaiting calls from their agents to inform them that they have reached agreements that will allow them to appear at camp. It should be noted that an RFA can go to the camp without a contract, but not reporting is one of the few bargaining chips the group has.

With Tkachuk here, meanwhile life will go on without him until he’s hired.

People who read this column on a daily basis already knew that Nick Paul had been designated to play in Tkachuk’s place with Josh Norris and Drake Batherson when the players hit the ice on Thursday, but Smith confirmed that he would go down that path while remaining confident. that Tkachuk will be here. sooner or later.

“I am confident that Brady will be here at some point,” Smith said. “Nick Paul can play anywhere, from the front row on the left wing, to the fourth row on the left wing or on the right, on the front row through the middle. Nick is the easy guy to put in there because it won’t affect his game. Wherever I put Nick, he can always go back and play on the left wing where he’s playing.

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“If I put someone else there, it can affect where I originally expected them to start or their role on the team. If we got to the point where Brady wasn’t here (to start the season), we’d probably see a few different options. We will see how the camp unfolds. I put Nick there because No. 1 is good enough and No. 2 will never affect his game. “

Not having Tkachuk in camp isn’t the end of the world and the next pressure point will be the season opener on October 14 when the Toronto Maple Leafs come to town.

The Senators will play their first exhibition game Sunday against the Winnipeg Jets on the road at 8 p.m.

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Twitter: @sungarrioch