End of Season Media Day Roundup

Locker room cleanout day came later than usual this year, but still earlier than we would have liked. Almost every player got a chance to speak to the media to discuss how their season went and what the future holds. Staois will apparently do his press conference on Monday. Here are some of the important things we learned:

• It doesn't sound like anyone is going to the world championships. That's not surprising, given how beaten up they must be after that first round series. Shockingly, Ullmark said he wanted to play for Sweden, which is one of the host countries, but was not invited.
• You can tell the players' energy is very different this year than it was in years past. The last few locker room cleanout days have seen them frustrated and angry; this time they seemed disappointed but eager to get back out there. Chabot and Tkachuk both talked about how much fun it was to play in front of the Ottawa crowd in the playoffs. Tkachuk was asked about the rumours that he wants out, and denied them - that stuff never means much, but he seemed so genuinely hyped about playing in Ottawa that I don't think anyone should be worried.
• Claude Giroux is a pending UFA, and apparently hasn't spoken to Staios yet. It sounds like he's happy here and everyone wants him back, but we'll see how the next few months play out.
• Travis Hamonic didn't have any answers about his future, but was talking like a man who's played his last game in Ottawa.
• As we all suspected, Tkachuk and Jensen were both playing through pretty serious injuries. Tkachuk says he injured his hip at Four Nations and suffered an upper body injury during the regular season, characterizing the second injury as "not something you can play through." Jensen didn't give details or a timeline for recovery.
• Nick Cousins says he'd like to come back, as did RFAs Kleven and Zetterlund. It doesn't sound like the front office has had that conversation with anyone yet.
• As usual, Tim Stützle was pretty hard on himself. He identified a lot of areas where he needs to improve, including faceoffs and knowing when to pass and when to shoot.
• The media requested Drake Batherson for an interview, but he apparently declined the offer. The only other player who didn't speak was Ridly Greig, and no one provided an explanation for that one.
• Overall, everyone seems mostly happy with how the season went and hungry to get back out there. Certainly better vibes all around than we've seen for a while in these media days.