Senators’ Jake Sanderson Exits With Injury

The Ottawa Senators were dealt a major blow in Friday’s season opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs. While they left Scotiabank Arena with their first win of the year, they also left with an injury to top defenseman Jake Sanderson. Sanderson exited after just 4:29 in ice time after getting tangled up with Toronto’s Nick Paul. His knees appeared to bend awkwardly on the play. Head coach Travis Green said postgame that Sanderson pulled himself from the matchup out of fear that he reaggravated a previous injury per Joshua Clipperton of The Canadian Press.

Sanderson could now miss time with a nagging, lower-body injury. He missed 15 games during the 2025-26 season with a concussion and upper-body injury. Ottawa stayed strong through his absences last year, posting a 9-4-2 record and 48-to-40 goal differential. Still, Sanderson’s spot in the lineup is an important one. He led the Senators blue-line with 24:50 in average ice time last year and managed a career-high scoring pace of 14 goals and 54 points in 67 games, on pace for 17 goals and 66 points in 82 games.

Green deployed Ottawa’s defensemen carefully after Sanderson’s exit on Friday. Newly-named captain Thomas Chabot appeared in 27 minutes of ice time and recorded two points in the three-goal effort. His defense partner, Jordan Spence, appeared in 22:30 while left-defenseman Tyler Kleven played 21:43 after moving up to fill Sanderson’s spot in the lineup.

Rookie defenseman Carter Yakemchuk took over power-play duties. He played just 17:50 on Friday – the lowest on Ottawa’s blue-line, except for Sanderson – but led the team with 4:35 in power-play ice time. That role didn’t result in any scoring for the 21-year-old defenseman.

Green’s shift of the lineup could indicate his plans should the Senators be without Sanderson once again. Chabot and Spence would be leaned on as the team’s top pair, while Yakemchuk aims to find his scoring on the top power-play unit and Kleven moved into a top-four role. Ottawa could also soon receive the reinforcement of right-defender Artem Zub, who began the season on the sideline due to an injury sustained in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Senators general manager Steve Staios told TSN 1200 that Zub should be ready early into the season. He will likely slot onto the top-pair next to Chabot as soon as he’s back to full health.

Ottawa fans will hope Sanderson’s proactive decision to leave Friday’s matchup early will mean he avoided the worst case scenario. The team expects to know more about the extent of his injury over the weekend. Ottawa visits the Boston Bruins on Sunday and Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday.