Why Thomas Chabot was the right choice as Senators’ captain

Things were thrown into flux for the Ottawa Senators this summer when captain Brady Tkachuk requested and was granted a trade out of town to the Florida Panthers.

The captaincy remained vacant for the Sens throughout the offseason, until Tuesday, when the club named veteran defenseman Thomas Chabot as the 11th captain in franchise history, following in the footsteps of other longtime leaders and stars in Ottawa including Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza and Erik Karlsson.

Chabot, the Senators’ first-round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, had previously served as an alternate captain for the club. He will make his debut with the “C” on his chest on Saturday, when Ottawa opens its 2026-27 season against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

On Thursday’s episode of Leafs Morning Take from Daily Faceoff Toronto, Senators head coach Travis Green joined host Nick Alberga and NHL insider David Pagnotta to discuss why Chabot was the right man for the job.

Travis Green: “First of all, I think it’s a really good decision. We took our time making it a little bit. I think as time went on, we were pretty set in Chabby being the guy. Obviously, he was one of the guys we were thinking about all summer, And they were awaiting a new baby. So that kind of delayed things a little bit.

“I’m really happy for Chabby. He’s been a leader here for a while and grown into probably a better leader now that he’s been here for – it’s not just the length, but what he’s gone through here, growing as a player himself and watching the team grow and struggle and then hopefully turn in the corner.

“The last two years we’ve had pretty good seasons, made the playoffs, haven’t gone the way we’ve wanted. But he’s going to be a great captain for us. He loves his teammates.

“One thing I didn’t know about Chabby was that he’s a warrior. He plays through a lot of injuries that I have never seen guys play through. And he sacrifices for the team. He loves the city, so it was an easy choice.”

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode below…