After injuring his leg, Ottawa Senators rookie sensation Brady Tkachuk will miss about a month.
The Ottawa Senators came into this season with not too much hope. Especially after trading team captain Erik Karlsson to the San Jose Sharks in September. However, after six games, they have a 3-2-1 record, good for seven points. That puts them in the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, though it’s still early.
One of the Senators’ brightest spots thus far has been 2018 first-round pick Brady Tkachuk. After drafting him with the fourth overall pick, he earned his spot on the NHL roster and made the team out of training camp.
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Some bad news came out of Ottawa on Wednesday, as the Senators announced Tkachuk will miss about a month due to a torn ligament in his leg.
This is a big loss for the Sens. Tkachuk was one of their most impressive forwards, picking up six points in his first four NHL games while averaging 14:17 of ice time per game. His six points are tied for second on the team among forwards with Matt Duchene, trailing only Chris Tierney, who has eight points.
It will be interesting to see what the Senators will do without Tkachuk. He was playing on their top forward line at five-on-five. They could move Mikkel Boedker, an offseason acquisition from the Sharks, up a line. Zack Smith could be an option as well, though he’s currently a center. Ryan Dzingel is another option, but he’s currently out with an injury as well.
Tkachuk’s injury hurts Ottawa because they don’t have much depth at left wing. Boedker and Smith are decent, but after him, it gets a bit dicey, especially with Dzingel injured. Magnus Paajarvi is better suited in a bottom-six role. That’s the case with Tom Pyatt as well.
According to Ian Mendes from TSN Radio 1200, the injury likely happened against the Dallas Stars on Monday. Tkachuk has been something for Senators fans to be very happy about, so this really hurts the team in many ways.