Matthew Tkachuk came out and said that negotiations between the Ottawa Senators and Brady Tkachuk aren’t going well and that things aren’t close between the two sides. Matthew apparently knows this because the Tkachuk family works on contract extension negotiations as a group and because Brady has been getting advice and guidance from his brother (Matthew) and his father (Keith).
This was not good news to Senators’ fans, but on Saturday Senators Senior VP of Player Development Pierre McGuire said that things aren’t nearly as bad as Matthew Tkachuk made them out to be. McGuire spoke with TSN’s Gord Wilson and said:
“Since I’ve been here we have had five meetings, either via phone or face to face with Newport Sports management and not one of them has ended in an acrimonious manner, not one of them. We’re trying to negotiate, we are in a firm position and they are in a firm position, we’ll see where it goes. We’re gonna have another discussion with them before this week starts.”
When asked if he was concerned about how much time the two sides have, McGuire acknowledged there isn’t lots of time but there is time. Physicals are coming up and the player will hit the ice soon so it becomes imperative that both sides realize there’s a date here that matters and they need to work harder to get something done.
The important thing to note here is that the Senators don’t feel they are in a position where a deal won’t get done. They aren’t denying the fact they’re not sure where things stand, but they don’t seem as quick to suggest a deal isn’t close as Matthew Tkachuk seemed to suggest.
The Senators Are Running Out of Time
Perhaps Matthew was thinking a little bit more pessimistically. He’s been through this sort of thing and when both sides dig in (like McGuire admitted both sides have), it can take time to get a deal finalized. There is a chance here that this deal doesn’t get done before camp and if so, Sens fans will start to worry.
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