Eklund Undergoes Ankle Surgery — Ottawa's $5.6M Winger Is Out 10–12 Weeks
GOATIFYOttawa's promising start faces a difficult test. William Eklund, acquired during a busy summer, is expected to be unavailable for 10 to 12 weeks. The Senators must now replace a winger they hoped would contribute immediately while protecting their 5-2-0 start. Eklund was a major part of Ottawa's post-Tkachuk plan, and his absence will test the depth behind the team's most productive forwards.
The new timetable changes Ottawa's early-season plans
The turning point came against Philadelphia on October 8. Eklund was driven awkwardly into the boards by Flyers defenseman Simon Benoit during Ottawa's 2-1 victory. He needed help leaving the ice and did not return. The initial public outlook was uncertain, but the injury was clearly more than a routine missed shift.
Coach Travis Green said the following day that Eklund would be sidelined for an extended period. His initial view was that a return later in the season was possible. The latest update provides a much longer planning horizon. Ottawa must adjust its lines for several months, not just games. A return around the turn of the year is only an estimate.
Counting forward from mid-October points toward late December or early January, not the next few games. That is an estimate rather than a guaranteed return date. Skating progression, conditioning, contact readiness and medical clearance can affect availability. Ottawa should prepare to be without Eklund for a substantial block of the schedule rather than build its plan around the earliest possible date.
His first games showed some promise. He had one goal and one assist in four games. Both points came against Detroit on October 6, when Ottawa lost 5-3. He barely featured against Philadelphia before leaving the ice. That is far too little time to judge his fit. His career record offers a stronger basis for assessing what the club will miss. Three straight productive NHL seasons made him a major part of Ottawa's plans. Now Green must change the forward lines without knowing which combinations would have worked best with Eklund available.
Ottawa paid for a top-six building block
Eklund's absence feels costly because of how he arrived. In June, Ottawa sent the ninth pick in the 2026 NHL Draft to San Jose to acquire a proven young winger. Ottawa also received two prospect assets: forward Kasper Halttunen and the rights to Brandon Svoboda. The pick had come from Florida in the Brady Tkachuk trade. Ottawa chose immediate help over waiting for another first-round prospect to develop.
The investment was substantial because the winger had already proved he could produce in the NHL. He recorded 53 points in 78 games last season, including 15 goals and 38 assists, and had three consecutive campaigns with at least 15 goals and 45 points. Selected seventh overall in 2021, he arrived with a record of steady development rather than the uncertainty attached to most draft selections. Ottawa could reasonably expect an established contributor from the opening weeks of the season.
His contract added to that logic. Eklund carries a $5.6 million annual cap hit and is signed through 2028-29. That is a meaningful commitment, but it also offered Ottawa cost certainty for a player entering what should be important years of his career. A lengthy injury does not invalidate the trade; it does remove some of the immediate value the Senators were buying. They paid with a premium draft asset to improve the lineup now, not simply to add a name for future seasons.
It matters that this was part of a broader reshaping of the team after Tkachuk's departure. Eklund was never a one-for-one replacement for the former captain's physical presence or leadership. His appeal lies in his skating, puck handling and ability to create plays through movement and quick decisions. Those qualities can complement Ottawa's established scorers without asking him to replicate another player's style. The team now has to build that attacking balance without the winger it acquired to help provide it.
Ottawa also valued the fit with its existing core. Eklund knew fellow Swedish winger Fabian Zetterlund from their time together in San Jose, while the prospect of playing with Tim Stutzle was an obvious attraction. Chemistry cannot be assumed, and four games is not enough to determine whether a particular combination would have succeeded. Still, the intended logic was clear: put another capable puck carrier and passer alongside players who can turn possession into scoring chances.
The return package from San Jose also included Halttunen and Svoboda, so the transaction should not be reduced to Eklund versus one draft pick. But those younger assets are longer-term considerations. The immediate question for Ottawa is how to replace Eklund's minutes, touches and offensive creativity until he can return. If the Senators stay competitive during his recovery, the trade can still pay off later in the season. If they struggle to generate chances, the missing skill set will become harder to ignore.
Stutzle and Ullmark face a depth test
The reassuring part for Ottawa is that it has already won without a fully healthy roster. The Senators opened the season 5-2-0, with strong contributions from their stars. That start gives coach Travis Green a cushion, but it is too early to treat seven games as proof that the team can absorb any injury. The next stretch will reveal whether Ottawa's early results reflect sustainable depth or a hot opening week.
Tim Stutzle remains central to the attack. His ability to carry the puck through the neutral zone and create dangerous possessions gives Ottawa a route to offense even without Eklund. Drake Batherson and Dylan Cozens provide other established forward options, while Fabian Zetterlund offers a familiar link to the injured winger's playing style. Green can move those pieces around, but every promotion has a cost: shifting a player into a larger offensive role can weaken the line he leaves behind.
That is the hidden problem with losing a top-six-caliber winger. The obvious loss is a missing scorer, yet the effect can spread across three or four lines. A coach may ask another forward to play tougher matchups, start more shifts in the offensive zone or join a power-play unit. Those adjustments can work in isolation while making the overall roster less balanced. Ottawa needs to evaluate whether its new combinations create enough chances at five-on-five, not merely whether one replacement records a point.
There is also a difference between surviving a few games and sustaining performance for 10 to 12 weeks. Opponents will get more video of Ottawa's adjusted lines and may change how they defend Stutzle's entries or Batherson's shooting opportunities. The Senators will have to respond with movement away from the puck, support through the middle and contributions from players who were not expected to carry the scoring burden. A productive third line could become just as important as a temporary first-line fix.
At the other end of the ice, Linus Ullmark can help stabilize the team if its attack becomes less consistent. Goaltending does not replace a winger's playmaking, but it can keep games close while the forwards search for chemistry. Ottawa also has reason to welcome reinforcements on defense. Artem Zub was expected to make his season debut against the Islanders on October 15 after missing time with a knee injury. A healthier blue line can improve exits and reduce the pressure on forwards to generate offense from broken plays.
The timing matters because Ottawa's 5-2-0 start has created expectations. Thursday's home game against the New York Islanders is another opportunity to test its revised combinations, not a referendum on the entire season. The organization should resist drawing big conclusions from a single result. The more useful measures over the coming weeks will be shot quality, controlled entries, special-teams opportunities and whether scoring is distributed beyond one or two familiar names.
There is a roster-management angle as well. Eklund is already on injured reserve, and a prolonged absence could prompt the club to consider additional cap-management options if a transaction becomes necessary. That possibility is not the same as an announced move. The priority is to get a reliable medical recovery and make practical short-term lineup decisions without assuming an exact return date. Ottawa has to plan for the full window, then treat an earlier return as a bonus rather than the foundation of its strategy.
Eklund's surgery changes the Senators' calendar more than their long-term direction. The 10-to-12-week estimate points toward late December or early January, but the quality of his recovery matters more than hitting a particular date. Ottawa acquired a young, productive winger on a multiyear contract because it believed he could help its next competitive chapter. That belief has not been disproved by one unfortunate collision.
What happens before he returns is the real test. If Stutzle, Batherson, Zetterlund and the rest of the lineup keep creating chances while Ullmark and a healthier defense hold games together, Ottawa can welcome Eklund back to a team still moving forward. If the attack stalls, his absence will show just how much the Senators were counting on their summer addition.
