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Travis Green has had it with the criticism of Brady Tkachuk.
The Ottawa Senators coach came to the defence of his embattled captain before the club closed out its four-game homestand against the Calgary Flames on Monday night at the Canadian Tire Centre.
Social media was on fire after Tkachuk took 21 minutes in penalties, including a minor in the third period that resulted in a five-on-three for the Vancouver Canucks in the club’s 4-3 loss on Saturday night.
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Tkachuk left the game early after he was given a game misconduct after a fight with Vancouver’s Dakota Johnson.
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Green didn’t mind the sequence one bit and you could see the frustration on his face in the media room when he was about the criticism that Tkachuk has been getting since the incident on Saturday.
“Someone asked the other night about reining in Brady,” Green said on Monday morning. “We’ve got a player — and I’ve heard this chatter a little bit — we’re lucky to have this guy for starters.
“He’s a skilled hockey player, he’s tough, he’s mean, he cares and he’s passionate about winning in Ottawa. And, he’s a very good hockey player. If you looked around, whether you played peewee, junior, American league or any league in the world, you’d want a player like this on your team.”
Green will never tell Tkachuk, 25, to change his game and he wants him to ignore the noise. Tkachuk is the heartbeat of the Senators and he leads this team into battle.
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“I don’t think it’s fair,” Green said. “Is he perfect? No, there are not many perfect players in the world. Sometimes when you have something for a little while you forget what you have.
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“The Ottawa Senators are lucky to have this guy. I don’t think the chatter is fair. Is he going to make mistakes? Hell, yeah. Every player does. So I would probably take a step back on that because I don’t think it’s fair.”
The Senators have made it clear to Tkachuk that they want him to fight less because they don’t want him in the penalty box for lengthy periods.
That game against the Canucks was the club’s fifth straight loss and you can’t blame him for being frustrated. Tkachuk wants to win, he has had enough of the losing and he can see this is another season slipping away from a group that’s supposed to take the next step.
Tkachuk is trying to find the balance between taking one for the team and stepping up when necessary.
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“It’s always hard,” Green said. “Sometimes you gotta light a fire under a guy’s ass and get him to play hard. I’d much rather have a guy who plays extremely hard and teach him when to do it and when not to do it.
“People forget this guy is still young. I mean, my God, to go after a guy because he’s emotional and wants to win? Like really? We want all our players to be emotional and want to win. To challenge a guy like that is … I’m probably being light in my (comments) but I think it’s crazy.
“No one is perfect. Is he going to make the odd mistake that’s going to cost us a goal? Yes, he is. But I’d rather a guy make a mistake and play with his passion and his heart than sit there being meek and make mistakes that way.”
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