Senators Open Training Camp With A Pair Of Regulars Injured

Once again, the Senators seemed to endure more than their fair share of injuries last season.

Their bad luck continued into the playoffs, when they lost defenceman Artem Zub to a lower-body injury and Jake Sanderson to a concussion.

As the Senators open training camp in earnest with their first on-ice sessions Thursday, there was hope the injury bug might calm the hell down this season.

No such luck.

Head coach Travis Green announced during his first official media availability of the season Wednesday that Zub and forward Warren Foegele will not be ready for the start of camp.

Zub is still working his way back from the lower-body injury he suffered against the Carolina Hurricanes in April. It was a particularly frustrating ending to an otherwise healthy regular season in which he played 81 games and recorded an impressive 30 points. His playoff run lasted only seven minutes before the injury forced him out of Game 1.

Zub apparently chose to rehab the injury rather than undergo surgery. Nearly five months later, he has not yet been cleared for full participation, which is concerning.

The encouraging news is that both Zub and Foegele are skating. Green said he expects them to rejoin the team within the next one to two weeks.

On the first day of training camp, that timeline may not sound especially concerning. This year’s camp, however, is unusually brief. Two weeks would take the Senators almost to their regular-season opener on October 3.

Even if Zub is cleared before opening night, it is reasonable to wonder whether he might be a little slow out of the gate after an off-season that did not include his usual training routine.

If he isn't ready, that would remove any decision-making about rookie Carter Yakemchuk, who would almost certainly start the season in Ottawa. 

If Foegele misses games, that could take away one of Green's potential experiments.

Acquired at the NHL trade deadline, Foegele posted eight points in 21 regular-season games with Ottawa, mostly in the bottom six. With the Senators still searching for one or two players to round out their top six, the 30-year-old is likely to receive an audition in an offensive role at some point.

Foegele finished last season with 17 points in 68 games split between the Senators and Los Angeles Kings. Those numbers were a significant drop from the previous year, when he scored 24 goals and produced 46 points for Los Angeles.

Both men are skating, so Green had a nothing-to-see-here attitude going on Wednesday, as he so often does about injuries. Neither injury appears to be a long-term concern at this stage.

However, with a condensed training camp and very little time to prepare for opening night, Wednesday's developments weren't ideal.

By Steve Warne
The Hockey News