William Eklund out 10-12 weeks after ankle surgery

A week ago the Senators were hoping to skip surgery. That hope is gone, and the news came from the Ottawa Sun's Senators beat.

Bruce Garrioch

@SunGarrioch

Eklund had surgery yesterday. Ankle torn tendon 10-to-12 weeks. #Sens

Eklund got hurt on October 8 against the Flyers. Simon Benoit hit him into the boards in the 1st period, and he couldn't put any weight on his left leg as he left the ice. The next day Travis Green said Eklund would be out for an 'extended' period but that he didn't think surgery would be needed. Now the torn tendon has been repaired, and the clock started on Wednesday.

Here's why it hurts. Ottawa didn't sign Eklund off the scrap heap. The Senators sent the No. 9 pick in the 2026 Draft to San Jose for him, with Kasper Halttunen and Brandon Svoboda also coming over, and they did it 2 days after trading Brady Tkachuk. He was supposed to help fill the hole left by the captain. He had 53 points (15 goals, 38 assists) in 78 games last season with the Sharks, and he's in the 1st year of a 3-year, $16.8 million deal that carries a $5.6 million cap hit.

He only got 4 games into his Senators career, scoring 1 goal with 1 assist, before the Benoit hit. Counting from the surgery, 10-12 weeks puts his return somewhere between late December and early January. That's a big chunk of the first half with 1 of the forwards the front office paid the most to get sitting on the shelf.

There's one possible upside. Eklund is already on injured reserve, and a recovery this long makes him a candidate for long-term IR if Ottawa wants to free up his $5.6 million for a move. Meanwhile the blue line is finally getting healthier: as of last week, Artem Zub (knee) and Jake Sanderson were both expected to rejoin the team within days. The defence is getting bodies back just as a forward goes down for months.

The next thing to watch is whether the Senators use the LTIR room to bring in another forward or just shuffle the lines and wait for him. In either case, the guy who cost a top-10 pick is going to see a lot more of the trainer's room than the ice before Christmas.