Senators forward William Eklund out extended period with ankle injury
The Ottawa Senators will be without forward William Eklund for an extended period after he was hurt in Thursday's win over Philadelphia.
OTTAWA — Ottawa Senators forward William Eklund will be out for an "extended" period of time with an ankle injury, head coach Travis Green said Friday.
Eklund left during the first period of Ottawa's 2-1 home-opening win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday after being hit awkwardly into the boards by defenceman Simon Benoit and awkwardly jamming his skate hard into the base of the boards.
He was unable to put weight on his left leg as he headed down the tunnel and needed assistance getting off the ice.
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"I don't know exactly how long," Green said when asked how long the 23-year-old forward would be sidelined.
He did say he does not believe Eklund will need surgery and expects him to return sometime during the regular season.
Losing a top-six forward for the foreseeable future is a blow for the Senators, who are off to a 3-1-0 start to sit among the leaders in the competitive Atlantic Division.
Eklund has two points (one goal, one assist) in four games this season. Selected by the San Jose Sharks with the No. 7 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, he has 165 points (51 goals, 114 assists) in 256 regular-season games with the Sharks and Senators.
The Senators acquired Eklund in June as part of a package that sent the ninth pick in the 2026 NHL draft to San Jose. He was acquired along with forward Kasper Halttunen and the rights to forward prospect Brandon Svoboda.
That pick was part of the return in the Brady Tkachuk trade to Florida.
Potential returns on the horizon
While Eklund is out, the Senators may be getting some other players back.
Green provided encouraging news on forward Andre Burakovsky, who is getting close to making his Senators debut and could potentially return as early as Saturday against the visiting Nashville Predators.
Enforcer Kurtis MacDermid, dealing with an upper-body injury, also participated in an optional practice Friday after missing much of camp and the early part of the season.
Green added that injured defencemen Jake Sanderson and Artem Zub should rejoin the team "in the next few days."
Sanderson has been sidelined since suffering an injury in the season opener against Toronto. Zub has yet to make his regular-season debut after dealing with an injury dating back to last April.
Defenceman Cameron Crotty (illness) was not at practice Friday, while Hoyt Stanley was called up from Belleville in the middle of the day on Thursday.
"We don't really talk about the guys who are out," Green said. "We worry about our own game. The guys who are playing. I think we're more than capable of winning games if we've got some players injured. We've done it before. It's as simple as that."
Ottawa returns to action Saturday night against the visiting Nashville Predators.
With files from The Canadian Press, Sportsnet and CBC News