Senators lose young star forward to gruesome injury tonight

It has been a rocky start to the 2026-27 season for the Ottawa Senators, and things just got a whole lot worse on Thursday night. Ottawa had already dealt with a brief scare earlier in the week when netminder Linus Ullmark had to leave Monday's game and sat out Tuesday's contest, but the silver lining was that he was back in the lineup for Thursday's matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers. Unfortunately, the injury bug was far from done with this team.

Early in the first period against the Flyers, forward William Eklund was driven hard into the boards by Philadelphia defenseman Simon Benoit. The impact was immediate and devastating. Eklund crumpled to the ice, visibly in agony and crying out in pain. He was completely unable to bear any weight on his leg and had to be assisted off the ice surface by his teammates. It was the kind of play that makes everyone in the building go silent.

A Brutal Blow to an Already Banged-Up Roster

While the Senators have not yet released an official update on Eklund's condition, he did not return to the game and was almost certainly done for the night. Given the nature of the injury and the fact that he could not put any pressure on his leg, this does not look like something that will be resolved in a matter of days.

Ottawa was already missing key pieces from their lineup heading into Thursday. Both Jake Sanderson and Artem Zub have been sidelined with injuries, and now it appears Eklund has been added to what is becoming a painfully long list of unavailable players for the Senators. Depth is going to be tested in a major way if these absences continue to pile up.

Eklund's Journey to Ottawa

The 23-year-old Swede was a highly touted prospect when the San Jose Sharks selected him seventh overall in the 2021 NHL Draft. His path to becoming an NHL regular was not entirely straightforward, as he spent a significant chunk of the 2022-23 campaign in the AHL before notching his first NHL goal. A shoulder injury cut that season short.

Eklund found his footing in 2023-24, putting up 16 goals and 49 points across 80 games with San Jose. He took another step forward the following year, posting 17 goals and 58 points, which earned him a three-year contract extension in July 2025. His 2025-26 campaign saw him register 15 goals and 53 points in 78 games, though he did miss some time with a lower-body issue.

This past June, the Sharks dealt Eklund to Ottawa along with forwards Kasper Halttunen and Brandon Svoboda in exchange for a first-round pick. It was a move that signaled the Senators were serious about bolstering their forward group for a push this season. Losing him this early in the year, especially to what looked like a serious leg injury, is a significant setback for a team that had high hopes heading into the fall.

All eyes will be on the Senators' injury report in the coming days as fans and the organization alike hold their breath for an update on Eklund's status.