When the Ottawa Senators hit training camp next month, there probably won't be many roster battles to sort out. But one major variable remains: the health of veteran defenceman Nick Jensen. The 34-year-old underwent off-season hip surgery in May, a procedure he’d hoped to avoid but ultimately couldn’t. The hip first locked up on him last November following a game in San Jose, and while he’d experienced similar issues earlier in his career, this time the problem didn’t go away. Jensen spent the rest of the season grinding through the pain, spending more time than he'd like on the trainer's table, before deciding surgery was the only solution. Steve Warne and Gregg Kennedy discuss Nick Jensen's injury being the wild card at camp next month. Now, over three months removed from surgery, Jensen is back training, skating, and feeling optimistic. But when exactly he'll be back isn't clear. “Personally, I'm just kind of grinding ahead one day at a time,” he said last week on the Coming in Hot Podcast. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0pkTptv3BU] “I know it's easy for guys that when they go through surgeries they get these timelines in their head … I don't really take that approach. "I'm really just focused on going to the gym every day and making sure that I do all the work that I can and all the work that I should, and it's been feeling really good.” The biggest change, he admitted, is simply his quality of life. “Everyday life is way better. Family life, you know, and playing with my kids. It was a game changer right out of the gates,” Jensen said. “Training and stuff, I feel like it's going really well. "I probably could have gotten on the ice earlier, but I just wanted to take the time and really hammer down the strength on my hip and make sure that’s ready. I think it paid off and now I'm starting to get on the ice more … Overall, I think I'm in a really good spot right now and I think I just hit three months out from surgery.” Jensen’s hip issues last season began in San Jose after a November game against the Sharks, but at first, he wasn’t fazed because his hip had locked up on him before. “Usually it cleared in three or four days, maybe a week. But this time it didn’t. We tried everything, injections, medication, all that stuff, and none of it really had the answer. I was like, I can't do this the rest of my career … I would almost rather retire than continue to try to play like this.” What made it even tougher was the fact that Jensen and Thomas Chabot had gotten off to such a good start. Early on, they were one of the best D pairs in the league, which was just what GM Steve Staios was banking on when he traded away Jakob Chychrun to acquire Jensen from Washington. Now, Jensen’s focus is on rehabbing properly and making sure the hip holds up for the long grind of an NHL season. But he’s not putting any timeline on things. Meanwhile, on Monday, the Sens signed Minnesota Wild free agent defenseman Cameron Crotty, an Ottawa native. Their recent stockpiling of right-shot defencemen, including Crotty, Jordan Spence, and Lassi Thomson, hints that Jensen may miss some time. But once he returns, whenever that is, Ottawa gains back a reliable, steady presence on its blue line, and that could be a huge factor in whether the Senators can take another step forward this season. By Steve Warne This article was first published at The Hockey News Ottawa [http://thn.com/ottawa] Read more Sens articles from The Hockey News: Three Ottawa Senators Named To U.S. Olympic Orientation Camp [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators/latest-news/three-ottawa-senators-named-to-u-s-olympic-orientation-camp] Senators' NHL Dream Began Over Pints in the Dressing Room [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators/latest-news/sens-rewind-ottawa-s-nhl-dream-began-over-dressing-room-pints-after-pickup-hockey] Former Ottawa Senator Travis Hamonic Signs With Atlantic Division Rival [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators/latest-news/former-ottawa-senator-travis-hamonic-signs-with-atlantic-division-rival]
