Sens GM Pierre Dorion appears to put a timeline on Brady Tkachuk's new contract

The Ottawa Senators are approaching training camp and the preseason with one goal in mind, which is to set themselves up for a big season that will put them in a good position to secure a playoff spot.

The one kink in this plan is that Brady Tkachuk, one of the Sens' most important pieces, remains without a contract deep into the offseason.

Senators GM Pierre Dorion, fresh off of signing his extension with the team, joined hosts Mike Zigomanis and Scott MacArthur this morning on Sportsnet 590 The Fan's "Lead Off" and was promptly asked the following:

"Where exactly are things with Brady Tkachuk today and are you confident that he will be signed and secured when training camp starts?"

Dorion was hesitant to reveal too much about the negotiations and where things stand at this point in time, but he did appear to put a timeline on when we can expect to hear about Tkachuk's new deal.

"We're not really going to talk about it too much in public. We have had really positive talks. Are we confident that he'll be signed by the time camp starts? Yes."

It's unclear at this point whether something is imminent or if this is a situation that will go down to the wire, but Dorion did add something after the fact that might allude to the two sides being close and a deal getting done here in relatively short order.

"Hopefully, next time you guys bring me on the show, we'll be able to announce a Brady Tkachuk contract."

Last week, analyst Anson Carter had suggested that Andrei Svechnikov's 8-year, $62M deal was a good comparable for Tkachuk and that he could see the almost 22-year-old sign somewhere between Svechnikov's $7.75M and teammate Thomas Chabot's $8M, perhaps a tough higher at $8.25M.

With Dorion all but confirming that we should see a resolution before camp opens, we certainly don't have long to wait now for the announcement.

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