The Senators confirm the worst for William Eklund

The Ottawa Senators have been dealt an unfortunate injury blow, as forward William Eklund has undergone ankle surgery and is expected to miss the next 10-12 weeks of action. The news is a significant setback for Ottawa as the club looks to establish itself as a legitimate playoff contender, and it leaves the Senators with some important decisions to make when it comes to filling the hole in their forward group.

A recovery timeline of 10-12 weeks means Eklund could be sidelined until late December or early January, depending on how his rehabilitation progresses. That is a substantial stretch of the regular season, particularly for a Senators team that will be looking to build consistency and collect as many points as possible before the schedule gets into its most demanding months.

Ankle injuries can be particularly challenging for hockey players, given the demands of skating, changing direction, accelerating and maintaining balance through physical battles along the boards. Even after a player is medically cleared to return, getting back to full game speed can take time. Ottawa will undoubtedly want to make sure Eklund is completely healthy before putting him back into the lineup.

For the Senators, the immediate challenge is figuring out how to replace his minutes and offensive contributions while he works his way back from surgery.

A significant loss for Ottawa's top six

Eklund's absence is especially frustrating when you consider what the Senators gave up to acquire him this past summer. Ottawa landed the former seventh-overall pick from the San Jose Sharks in a June trade that sent the ninth overall selection in the 2026 NHL Draft to San Jose, along with Eklund's fellow prospects Kasper Halttunen and Brandon Svoboda heading to Ottawa. The Senators clearly viewed Eklund as an important piece of their future, and his arrival was supposed to give their forward group another skilled, young player capable of making an offensive impact.

Eklund had already begun showing signs of what he could bring to the table before the injury. He recorded a goal and an assist through his first four games of the 2026-27 campaign, including a two-point performance against the Detroit Red Wings on October 7. He was injured the following night against Philadelphia after taking an awkward hit from Flyers defenseman Simon Benoit.

Losing a player of Eklund's calibre forces head coach Travis Green to reconsider his forward combinations. Ottawa could look to promote a player from its bottom six into a more prominent role, giving someone an opportunity to prove they can handle additional responsibility. Alternatively, Green could shuffle his existing top-six combinations to spread the offensive workload across multiple lines.

The Senators will also have to consider their options on the power play. Eklund's offensive instincts and playmaking ability could have made him a useful contributor with the man advantage, and his absence could force Ottawa to lean more heavily on its established offensive stars.

There is some reason for optimism, however. Ottawa has a talented core featuring Tim Stützle, Brady Tkachuk, Drake Batherson and Dylan Cozens, giving Green several established options to help compensate for the loss. The challenge will be ensuring that Eklund's absence doesn't put too much pressure on those players to carry the offensive load night after night.

The next few months will be crucial

The timing of this injury is particularly unfortunate because Ottawa is trying to build on its progress and establish itself as a consistent contender in the Atlantic Division. Every point matters in a competitive division, and dropping too many games while Eklund recovers could make the second half of the season more difficult than necessary.

The 10-12-week timeline also means the Senators should be cautious about expecting an immediate return to form when Eklund is finally cleared to play. His recovery and rehabilitation will be the priority, and the team will need to manage his return carefully.

Ultimately, Eklund's surgery represents a significant early-season obstacle for the Senators. The young forward was acquired to help strengthen their attack, and now Ottawa must find a way to replace his contributions for potentially three months.

If the Senators can maintain their momentum and receive consistent production from their other forwards, they should be capable of weathering the storm. But Eklund's absence is a reminder of how quickly an injury can change a team's plans, and Ottawa will need its depth players to step up if it hopes to keep its season on track until one of its newest additions is ready to return.