Stutzle said he didn’t know Tkachuk had requested a trade before the deal that sent the 26-year-old forward to Florida. Tkachuk, who has two seasons remaining on a seven-year, $57.5 million contract ($8.214 million average annual value), had repeatedly said he wanted to stay with Ottawa and expressed frustration at the end of last season with recurring rumors about him wanting out, saying, “I have been fully committed to this team, to this city.”
Stutzle said: “You don't really talk to your teammates about that. I love Ottawa and I want to be there for as long as I can. Maybe other people have different opinions. That's none of my business. I'm just trying to focus on what we have, the team we have. We have a great team. We have a bunch of great guys, so it's going to be fine.”
An alternate captain last season, Stutzle will be among those asked to be provide leadership in Tkachuk’s absence and is potential candidate to replace him as captain. He’s not viewing it as having to replace Tkachuk, though.
“He's a great player, so obviously if you lose a guy like him, he's going to be missed, but I don't think a whole lot changed for us,” Stutzle said. “I think we always had great leaders in the room, so there's not one guy who has to be the guy. We have so many guys who lead the team well where everybody has an open ear for anyone.
“So we're just focused on the team we have, and I think we built a really great culture, which we're really proud of.”
Stutzle echoed the sentiment of Senators general manager Steve Staios, who said the day after the trade, “I want to be clear: I don't intend on taking a step back with this group.” Ottawa (44-27-11) went 21-6-4 in its final 31 games last season to qualify for the playoffs as the second wild card from the Eastern Conference before losing to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes in four games in the first round.
Stutzle said the Senators’ objective now is on taking another step this season.
“Obviously, last year, I think we had a really strong push at the end of the year,” he said. “We definitely didn't just want to make the playoffs. We wanted more than that, but you’ve got to learn from it and move on and work hard in the summer and then get back to work.”
When Ottawa gets back to work at the start of training camp next month, Stutzle will continue to be one of its most important players. He led the Senators with 83 points (34 goals, 49 assists) in 80 games last season while working on his play defensively, including playing on the penalty kill.
“I think (coach Travis Green) has done a tremendous job of kind of getting all our skill guys to buy in on the defensive side, and that was my goal,” Stutzle said. “Now, I think I probably left a couple too many chances on the table last year, couldn't really score on breakaways and all that stuff, so I've been trying to work on that.
“Then, also I think I’m really young, so trying to round out my game and trying to get stronger, better in all kinds of areas. I love doing it, so it's always fun.”
