Senators place leading scorer Drake Batherson in COVID-19 protocol

Per the team’s communications department, the Ottawa Senators placed forward Drake Batherson in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol on Sunday.

Batherson becomes the fifth Sens forward and 10th Sens player overall now listed as non-roster due to COVID-19. It’s a tough loss for an already depleted Senators team. Batherson leads Ottawa in scoring with 16 points in just 14 games.

Andrew Agozzino is the team’s only extra healthy forward on the active roster, and he’ll make his season debut for Ottawa Sunday against the Calgary Flames. Ottawa is now down to just five forwards in AHL Belleville under active contract, but the Sens have three other forwards on loan who could theoretically be recalled to the team in an emergency.

Depending on how head coach D.J. Smith shuffles the team’s lines on Sunday, offseason acquisition Zach Sanford could get a look in the top-six in place of Batherson. Sanford has just three points in 14 games and hasn’t quite been what Senators fans had hoped.

They’ll need increased minutes and performance from Joshua Norris and new captain Brady Tkachuk to help the team stay afloat.