The Ottawa Senators are growing restless as they await the start of their season on Saturday night in Toronto.
But at least the weeklong break between the end of their training camp and the beginning of a new campaign gave the organization time to name a new captain — and the choice was a popular one in the room.
“I mean, for me personally, it was Chabby all the way. I would have taken him any day of the week, so I'm just super happy that they made that decision, and I would have told them the same thing,” said Tim Stützle on Wednesday after practice.
“Chabby's been through it all here. He went through a lot of hard times here, and he always stayed here. And he was always the best. He's never in a bad mood, and always brings his energy. Plays through so many injuries. Never lets down his teammates. So if there's one guy who deserves it, it's definitely him.”
Chabot, who hosts team dinners. The one with a smile on his face every time the Sens score. The ultimate competitor, who played through a broken arm last year to help the Senators sneak into the playoffs. The one who meets the media in both languages, time after time, win or lose.
The “easy choice” for captain, as Travis Green put it during Tuesday’s press conference.
“Yeah, it’s awesome, I’ve played with Chabby for a long time now, I know how much of a leader he is in this room, so, he’s doing to do a great job,” said Drake Batherson.
“He’s a guy that, you name it, he organizes things, organizes dinners, he’s loud in the room, jokes with everyone every day, he’s always in a good mood, a guy like that’s tough not to like. And he’s been here for a long time, in this city, so like I said, he deserves it, and we’re happy for him.”
Batherson added that he checks all the boxes in terms of what a captain should be, calling it an “awesome day for everyone.”
“Yeah, not surprising. Well-respected guy in the locker room. He's always in a good mood. He's been here for a while, the way he plays, he'll play through anything, and you know, we're definitely all happy for him,” said Claude Giroux, who became a captain in the league at the age of 25 and admitted that the ‘C’ can affect someone’s game if they’re not ready for it.
“It can… I feel like when I got it, I was pretty young, and I made a lot of mistakes, and I'm going to own that. But you know, I feel like he's older, he's got a lot of experience. Maybe he’s never had a ‘C’ before, but I think it's just in his blood that he leads on and off the ice, and I mean, he's not going to change as a person, so he’s just got to go out there and play the game… he was always one of our leaders, and nothing’s going to change.”
It was clear that nothing had changed for the group on Wednesday during practice. As Green prepares his group for their first preseason game, he told the media that they’d probably rather have a game under their belt before Saturday’s opener — as Toronto will have played two — and has been ramping up the intensity with two-on-two battle drills throughout the week.
As Linus Ullmark’s stick got swept away during one particularly competitive small-area game, there was Chabot, picking up the stick and delivering it back to his goalie.
“Always like, a positive guy, a happy guy… he actually helped me a lot since I came here, and just a close friend to me,” said Fabian Zetterlund, who arrived in Ottawa at the 2025 trade deadline.
“I mean it's great, great for him, great for his family. He's been here for a long time, and this is his home, you know. And yeah, he deserves it, really, and we're super happy for him.”
