Mark Stone says he wants to stay in the nation's capital.

The Senators winger was quick to deny a report on Tuesday that he doesn’t want to play in Ottawa anymore because he isn’t happy with the direction of the team.

"I love it here," Stone told reporters ahead of Wednesday night's preseason game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Canadian Tire Centre. 

"This has been a great month for me. I've enjoyed my previous four years here and I want to continue to be here...never once did I ever say that." 

Stone: I love it in Ottawa, I want to be here going forward

Ottawa Senators forward Mark Stone meets the media ahead of hosting the Leafs tonight.

Stone - along with centre Matt Duchene - will become an unrestricted free agent next summer and has been the subject of trade speculation amid the team’s commitment to a rebuild and the recent trade of captain Erik Karlsson.

The Senators avoided salary arbitration with Stone over the summer, signing him to a one-year contract worth $7.35 million.

The 26-year-old was tied for the Senators' scoring lead last season with 62 points in 58 games.

"We're happy to have Mark under contract," Senators general manager Pierre Dorion said on the team's Twitter account at the time of the signing. "Mark is a great leader in every sense; a character person, passionate competitor and a talented two-way player.

"Signing him is the first step in a process that allows us to continue to negotiate a long-term deal in the new year."

Stone has scored at least 20 goals in each of his four full NHL seasons, and registered a career-high 42 assists last year.

His 381 takeaways since the start of 2014-15 rank him first in the NHL, with 84 more than the next closest player.

Selected 178th overall by Ottawa in 2010, Stone has 249 points (95 goals, 154 assists) in 307 NHL games.

Stone, who made $3.5 million in each of the last three seasons, also has five goals and eight assists in his 27 career playoff games.