Ottawa Senators and Brady Tkachuk continue to try to find a resolution with the clock ticking officially

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Ottawa Senators and Brady Tkachuk hope that eventually all of these conversations can lead to their return to action.

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You know the restricted free agent winger wasn’t on the ice on the second official day of training camp at the Canadian Tire Center, but just because 22-year-old Tkachuk wasn’t there doesn’t mean they forgot. As the talks continue, try to get it under contract.

General manager Pierre Dorion has insisted that he has kept the lines of communication open with Tkachuk’s agents Craig Oster and Don Meehan of Toronto-based Newport Sports, and there is little reason to believe that was not the case. case on Thursday, as the senators try to get one of their best players signed a new contract.

Dorion has stated several times that the talks are “moving forward” and has maintained that they are progressing. At this point, no one can guess what a deal with Tkachuk will look like, but as has been said several times in this space, the senators would like to get an eight-year contract.

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On Thursday, winger Nick Paul was skating in place of Tkachuk in a line with center Josh Norris and winger Drake Batherson, but all remain hopeful, including owner Eugene Melnyk, coach DJ Smith and the rest of the top brass of the team. club, that he will return. in the fold in the near future.

Neither the Senators, Tkachuk, his family, nor his agents want him to miss camp with the club preparing to open the season against the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 14 at the Canadian Tire Center. It is not known if the talks have really escalated this week because they have been ongoing for the past few months.

Norris, a close friend, is hopeful that his former roommate from last season will be here soon, and if you listen closely, Tkachuk wants to do the business and go back to Ottawa.

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“It’s weird. I wish I was here,” Norris said Thursday. “He’s dealing with the business side (of the game) right now and I hope they can do something pretty quickly here.

“Whether he was here or not, I was prepared to have a good camp and focus on myself and bring what I bring to the table. Like I said, I wish I was here and I hope they can do something. “

Senators want Tkachuk to be part of the core of people like Tim Stuetzle, Alex Formenton, Norris and Batherson, who signed a six-year, $ 29.85 million contract before camp. Both parties want a contract that is fair to both of them and are trying to close any remaining gaps to see if they can do it.

If the two parties cannot find a way to enter into a long-term contract, then they will have to look for other options, but it is not known if we are there yet. You won’t find any player in the room losing sleep over this situation because these deals have a way of resolving themselves.

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Norris has been in contact with Tkachuk regularly throughout this process.

“We communicate a lot,” Norris said. “We are more than teammates, we are very good friends. I am seeing how you are doing and how you are dealing with the process. I wish I had made a deal now. It is what it is, it is doing well and it is taking it day by day “.

However, it seems that Tkachuk would like this to be done as quickly as humanly possible.

“I know you want to be here as soon as possible. … That’s all I can say right now, ”Norris added with a laugh.

Norris said he loves playing with Tkachuk and Batherson, so he would love to see the trio together again.

“We had a lot of fun playing together,” Norris said. “It was a gradual thing. I thought we showed some streaks at the beginning of the season, but then we had some lapses and some inconsistencies. We knew it and wanted to build throughout the season.

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“DJ and staff trust us more to play against the best players from the other teams. We took pride in that and as we did so we started scoring more and started generating more for our team. We love to play together. “

Of course having Paul there for camp is fine and he also won the club’s fitness tests.

“He’s a freak, he can do anything,” Norris said. “Even today, he’s such a big guy, but he has soft hands, he can shoot the puck well and he skates. I could go on and on. He’s good defensively, he’s skilled and we’ll see how long he lasts. I am excited to play with him. It should be OK.”

Of course, when Tkachuk returns, his roommates Norris and Stuetzle have gone their separate ways.

“The band fell apart. The fraternity no longer exists, ”Norris said. “I’m looking forward to it. It was good. We all need our own space. During COVID-19, it was nice, it would definitely have been difficult to be alone.”

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Twitter: @sungarrioch