OTTAWA — Thomas Chabot is the Ottawa Senators' newest captain following Brady Tkachuk's off-season departure.
The Senators announced during a news conference Tuesday that the 29-year-old defenceman will wear the 'C' for the 2026-27 season. Claude Giroux, Tim Stutzle and Jake Sanderson will serve as alternate captains.
A native of Sainte-Marie, Que., Chabot is the longest-serving active Senator, having played through seven playoff-less years before the team cracked the post-season in 2024-25. He made his NHL debut in 2016-17 after being selected 18th overall by Ottawa in the 2015 NHL draft.
"Ottawa's home for us. We bought our first house here, we've had our first child here,” said Chabot, whose wife, Marion, gave birth to their baby daughter last week. “Ottawa will always be close to our heart, no matter what.”
“Every organization goes through different times, and we're looking ahead in what we have here,” he added. “We're excited of the team we have. We have tons of guys that are happy to be here and want to play and want to wear this jersey every night.”
Chabot, who has often served as a team ambassador for francophone fans in the Ottawa-Gatineau region, becomes the 11th captain in franchise history after the Senators sent Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers in June, following his trade request. Tkachuk had served as captain for parts of five seasons after taking over the role Nov. 5, 2021.
In 569 career games with Ottawa, Chabot has recorded 78 goals and 257 assists, including seven goals and 24 assists in 57 games last season.
Chabot is signed through the 2027-28 season with a salary cap hit of US$8 million.
"The players gravitate to him. The way that he plays the game, the way he commits to the game is inspiring for his teammates,” Senators general manager Steve Staios said. “I think for a long time we knew who it was going to be. We had the very fortunate ability to look at a number of players on our group to be able to lead us, but clearly Thomas is the guy.
“He doesn't have to do anything different than what he's already done to lead this group.”
The Senators, who were swept by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes in the first round of last season’s playoffs, open their 2026-27 campaign Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 29, 2026.
The Canadian Press
