After weighing all their options, Steve Staios and Travis Green concluded the longest-serving Senator was the right choice to replace Brady Tkachuk as captain

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

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.

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

“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.

“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.”

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.

But the organization wanted to go through a process.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Green noted the Senators wanted to take their time.

“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.

“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.”

Chabot is the longest-serving member of the Senators and there isn’t a scenario he hasn’t faced in his career. He would have supported whoever was named the captain if the organization had decided to bypass him, but the reality is it made the most sense.

When the Senators made the playoffs the last two springs, a lot of people in the city were happy that Chabot was finally going to get to play meaningful games after a difficult rebuild.

Chabot played with a broken arm in the club’s first-round loss to the Carolina Hurricanes because he wanted to do what he could to help the Senators have success.

“He’s been here so long, but that’s part of it, his commitment to the organization. He’s been here for a decade, and he’s seen a lot and some ups and downs,” said Staios. “The timing for him is interesting because we’re on a good trajectory as a team. Part of leadership experience is going through the tough times, dealing with adversity and learning from that. Things like that make you a good leader.

“Thomas’s steadiness, his energy, his commitment — we talked all about that — and part of Thomas that I think gets a little bit misunderstood is … he’s an offensive defenceman. He can wheel around the ice and make plays, but he’s tough as nails.”

The “C” on Chabot’s chest could easily stand for commitment because he’s never had his commitment to the Senators called into question.

• Brady Tkachuk 2021 to 2026
• Erik Karlsson 2014 to 2018
• Jason Spezza 2013-14
• Daniel Alfredsson 1999 to 2013
• Alexei Yashin 1998-99
• Randy Cunneyworth 1994 to 1998
• Gord Dineen, Mark Lamb and Brad Shaw 1993-94
• Laurie Boschman 1992-93