The Ottawa Senators are mathematically eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs, and with numerous critics, pundits, and fans alike lamenting a season that should have been, there have been less than a handful of bright spots to cheer for within the organization.

Captain Brady Tkachuk and his effort night in and night out despite the expectations that were laid out in October at the beginning of the season are one of these, and his willingness to help make his team better and chip in were on display Saturday night, when he set a National Hockey League record.

Tkachuk has never shied away from physical play, which at times has caused controversy and put his team and teammates in difficult spots since he was drafted by the organization back in 2018. However, his grinding style has been rewarded, with him officially setting the record for the most hits in a single game at sixteen.




Whether you love or hate how Tkachuk plays and have an opinion as to whether he's an appropriate leader in Ottawa feels irrelevant at this point. Although the twenty-four-year-old has holes in his game, which at times have been exposed, the attributes he carries as a hockey player are the type of things the majority of fans would love to have in a prototypical leader of their franchise.

While the Senators will have to settle for an early tee time for the seventh year in a row and management has another important offseason ahead of them, it would appear that although they have fallen short once again, they are closer now to making a run than they were back in August when the season started.