Tim Stutzle believes the Ottawa Senators' leadership will remain strong despite the departure of captain Brady Tkachuk.
"I think we've got some really good players," Stutzle told The Athletic's Chris Johnston on Friday. "(We made) some really good additions. And also the leadership we have, obviously, besides our captain leaving. I think the leadership we had in the room before and the support group of Brady, I think, was really strong and still is really strong.
"I'm not concerned about that at all. I think we have a bunch of great leaders. No matter if someone's wearing a letter or not, we're a bunch of great guys."
The Senators haven't named a captain after trading Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers in June, but Stutzle, along with Jake Sanderson, Thomas Chabot, and Claude Giroux, could be among several players considered to wear the "C" next.
Tkachuk's trade to Florida - where he'll play with his brother, Matthew - followed his request to move out of Ottawa. Stutzle said he holds no ill will toward his former teammate.
"He was a friend of mine. He still is," Stutzle said. "Obviously, if you lose a guy you played with for five years, it's always kind of a change of scenery.
"I wish him all the best, but I'm also happy that we have a lot of guys who want to be in Ottawa. And if that's his decision, that's his decision. I'm going to respect that, obviously, and we're going to move on."
Ottawa acquired three first-round picks from the Panthers as part of the deal for Tkachuk. It then flipped one of the first-rounders to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for forward William Eklund. While Eklund is an entirely different player, he's essentially the team's de facto replacement for Tkachuk.
The Senators, who are coming off back-to-back first-round playoff exits, also added Andre Burakovsky and Samuel Ersson this offseason.
Stutzle registered a team-high 83 points last season. The 24-year-old has led Ottawa in scoring in three of the past four campaigns.
