OTTAWA — Thomas Chabot is the new captain of the Ottawa Senators.
The Senators made the announcement following practice at the Canadian Tire Centre on Tuesday. The left-shot defenceman is currently the longest-serving member of the organization and has been with the team for more than a decade.
He is the 11th captain in franchise history.
Claude Giroux, Jake Sanderson and Tim Stutzle were named alternate captains for the Senators, who open the regular season on Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“You guys all know how much I care about the city and this team. I take a lot of pride in wearing this jersey every single night,” Chabot told the media.
General manager Steve Staios said Chabot’s longevity with the organization, amongst other factors, played a role in being given the captaincy.
“[Chabot’s] commitment to the organization. He’s been here for a decade. He’s seen a lot. Some ups and downs,” Staios said. “I think the timing for him is interesting because we are on a good trajectory as a team. I think part of leadership is experience and being through tough times and dealing with that adversity and learning from that. Those are certainly things that make a good leader.”
Head coach Travis Green revealed that Chabot was always the top choice amongst players before officially being given the title.
“I think it was an easy choice,” Green said. “Thomas was always at the forefront. But I think it was important that we just saw our group together – whether it was for two or three weeks. It was evident before camp to us and as camp went on that Chabby would be the guy.”
The 29-year-old blueliner replaces former captain Brady Tkachuk, who requested a trade and was dealt to the Florida Panthers in June.
Chabot was born in St-Marie-de-Beauce, Que., but calls Canada’s capital home. Originally drafted in the first round (18th overall) of the 2015 draft, he has played 569 regular-season games in a Senators sweater.
“Ottawa is home for us. We bought our first house here; we’ve had our first child here. Ottawa will always be close to our heart no matter what,” Chabot said.
Prior to being named captain, Chabot served as an alternate. He’s always been viewed as one of the leaders of the organization and said the new title won’t change his leadership style.
“Whoever I was the last couple of years is going to be the same person. If I get that letter I’m not going to be a different guy,” Chabot said. “We have a lot of great guys and a tight group in there, and that’s what I take pride on is bringing everybody in together and being a group that likes to be all together.”
Staios said the decision to make the announcement was delayed because Chabot and his wife, Marion, welcomed their first child, daughter Romy, into the world a week ago. Chabot said he only found out about the captaincy when he saw Marion and Romy enter the dressing room after practice on Tuesday.
“When I saw my wife and my newborn coming into the room it kind of clicked in. I figured it wasn’t just an introduction to my daughter to the whole team and staff. It was a cool moment,” Chabot said.
“Yes, I’m the one wearing the C, but I do believe it takes all 20 plus guys in there to push in the same direction and I think we have that in there.”
“He exemplifies everything you want in a captain. He’s committed; he’s willing to sacrifice. His care, and it’s not just for his teammates but for the city and organization,” Green said. “It’s clear for me that he’s going to be a great captain for our team.”
