Why Thomas Chabot was the right choice to be Senators captain

The Ottawa Senators announced Tuesday that Thomas Chabot is the club's 11th team captain. Senators coach Travis Green, Chabot and general manager Steve Staios are seen at Tuesday's press conference. Photo by Tony Caldwell /POSTMEDIA

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The Ottawa Senators made the right “C”hoice on Tuesday.

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While Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager, and coach Travis Green wanted to keep their options open before naming the 11th captain in franchise history, Thomas Chabot was always at the top of the list.

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The hill the Senators chose in the end was for Chabot.

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“It was an easy choice at the end,” Green said, flanked by Staios and Chabot, at a press conference at the Canadian Tire Centre. “I know when we came to camp, we were asked a lot of questions, and I think Thomas was always at the forefront.

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“It was important that we saw our group together, whether it was for two or three weeks. It was evident to us as camp went on that Chabby would be the guy. He, as Steve said, exemplifies everything you would want in a captain. He’s committed, shows a willingness to sacrifice and he cares. It’s not just for his teammates, it’s for the city and the organization.”

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Staios and Green have been talking about the candidates to replace Brady Tkachuk since he demanded to be traded and was sent to the Florida Panthers in June. Nobody would have blinked if they had turned around the next day and named Chabot the captain.

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But the organization wanted to go through a process.

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We believe that Staios and Green sat down with the top three candidates for the job, which included defenceman Jake Sanderson and centre Tim Stutzle.

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There were also discussions internally that the club could use veteran Claude Giroux in the job as a placeholder for a year. Though that possibility was always a long shot, it was given serious consideration because Giroux, 38, is a former captain of the Philadelphia Flyers.

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It was surprising that it took until this week to name the captain, but there were extenuating circumstances here. Chabot and his wife, Marion, were waiting for the arrival of their newborn daughter, Romy.

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Ottawa Senators coach Travis Green, new captain Thomas Chabot and general manager Steve Staios are seen during a news conference on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

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There was no wrong choice, no matter who the Senators selected, but Staios and Green noted that the path always led them back to Chabot.

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When Senators owner Michael Andlauer arrived in the dressing room on Tuesday to be part of the announcement with Staios and Green, the players cheered when it was confirmed that Chabot was the captain.

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Green noted the Senators wanted to take their time.

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“It was just not rushing into anything,” Green said. “When you have to make a decision as big as this, if you have the time, take it. We have some young players that we wanted to see back in action again. Like we’ve said, we have a lot of people that I think are leaders in our room, and Thomas has gone through a lot, and he’s grown a lot as a player as well.

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“He’s not only gone through a lot team-wise, he’s grown a lot as a player as well, and he’s going to add to his repertoire as a captain, being able to help players as they move along as well. There are challenges for teams and individuals, and you want a captain who can communicate with players and the coaching staff, help guide players along in any way he can, and check all the boxes.”