I have been thinking about the day the guy was drafted, Karlsson not going to meet him because he was also on his way out. Thinking about the first couple seasons to now, having watched him become a premier power forward. I have been thinking about what he gave this city during his time here and I keep arriving at the same conclusion - Tkachuk's best contribution here was leaving.
We all know of the late game heroics when the score is out of reach, daddy and big brother issues, cringe podcasts and all more reasons we kind of just tolerated and defended him as one of our own.
Draft capital and Staios' mastery of the situation notwithstanding, have you ever seen the Senators organization and fans get more accolades than we just did?
As fans of our team, I know we don't really care about what others think of us, same as our opinions likely dont mean much to them. But maybe we never fully shook our self consciousness stemming from shaky attendance, occasionally quiet barn and our years as the "dumpster fire" franchise.
Tkachuk leaving and returning to such hostility and vitriol almost undid all of that in a night. The tribute video was the right thing to do, just like our fans were right to boo (and more).
Conclusion: the best thing he did for us was leave. On the ice, off the ice, as an organization and a fan base, we are truly better off.