A hot topic among fans of the Ottawa Senators this offseason has been the naming of the franchise\u2019s 11th\u00a0captain. The position has been vacant since the departure of Brady Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers a week before the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.<\/p>\n
When it comes to who should take his place, one name immediately comes to mind \u2013 Claude Giroux. An Ontario native who\u2019s shown commitment to the city of Ottawa by signing three consecutive contracts as a highly touted unrestricted free agent. A veteran of over 1,300 NHL games, with the faceoff prowess and off-puck IQ to still be an effective middle-six forward at 38 years of age. Among multiple deserving candidates on the Sens, Giroux stands out due to the experience factor \u2013 both as a NHL player and captain, having donned the \u2018C\u2019 with the Philadelphia Flyers for nearly 10 years.<\/p>\n
One potential argument against naming Giroux captain is that his tenure wouldn\u2019t be very long \u2013 the 2026-27 season is expected to be his last in the NHL. However, a short tenure as captain can still be incredibly meaningful, especially if Giroux can end his career with his first, and the Senators\u2019 first, Stanley Cup championship. It would be his first time wearing the \u2018C\u2019 in Ottawa, but aside from taking ceremonial faceoffs, his role within the organization wouldn\u2019t change much, as he\u2019s been an invaluable presence in the locker room from the day he first signed in the summer of 2022.<\/p>\n
A Giroux captaincy would also solve another potential issue regarding another candidate for the Senators \u2013 Thomas Chabot. The 29-year-old defenceman has been the longest serving active Ottawa Senator ever since being drafted in the first round in 2015, and also possesses the on-and-off ice qualities of a captain. <\/p>\n
The issue with giving Chabot the \u2018C\u2019 today, however, is that his current contract expires on July 1st, 2028, and while I predict he\u2019ll sign an extension well before then, naming him captain while there\u2019s some uncertainty could lead to some tricky negotiations \u2013 Ottawa could potentially be forced to overpay him, lest they let another captain walk out the door.<\/p>\n
Alternatively, naming Giroux as captain for the upcoming season, having him retire (after winning the Cup), then extending Chabot on July 1st, 2027 while simultaneously naming him the 12th\u00a0captain, would be a perfect scenario. Of course, there\u2019s still lots of uncertainty regarding Chabot\u2019s next deal \u2013 given that numerous comparable contracts will be signed over the next several months, that discussion can wait a while. But even if a deal can\u2019t be reached, Tim St\u00fctzle is still a thing. He\u2019d also be a great choice for the long haul that fans wouldn\u2019t be upset about.<\/p>\n
While there a ton of great options for the 11th\u00a0captain of the Ottawa Senators, Claude Giroux is the best choice, given his experience, presence on and off the ice, local ties, and the current outlook of the roster. Do you agree? If not, let us know in the comments \u2013 who would you select as Ottawa\u2019s next captain?\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A hot topic among fans of the Ottawa Senators this offseason has been the naming of the franchise\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":803984,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194295],"tags":[49,48,20739],"class_list":["post-803983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ottawa","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-ottawa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/803983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=803983"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/803983\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/803984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=803983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=803983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=803983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}