from Michael Traikos of the National Post,

As terrifying as it might be for the Ottawa Senators to potentially start the season without Brady Tkachuk on their opening-night roster, what has to scare the team and its fan base even more is potentially having to go through this dance again three years from now.

More and more, that’s looking like a realistic possibility.

And the Senators, who have spent years nickel-and-diming their homegrown stars only to watch them walk out the door for more money and more opportunity, only have themselves to blame as contract talks with the restricted free agent continue to drag on.

According to reports, there still remains a sizeable gap between Tkachuk and the Senators when it comes to putting a value on a new deal. It’s less about the cap hit as it is about the length of term. Tkachuk has reportedly already turned down an eight-year deal in the neighbourhood of $8 million per season. Instead, he reportedly prefers a three-year deal like the one Vancouver’s Elias Pettersson recently signed, which could theoretically set Tkachuk up for an even bigger pay day down the road.

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