Ottowa Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot is dealing with his second prolonged injury-related absence of the younger season. He’ll miss a minimal of 4 weeks after present process MRIs and different exams to find out the severity of a leg harm, though surgical procedure shouldn’t be required, reviews Darren Dreger of TSN. Additional to Dreger’s report, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch confirms the Senators will place Chabot on long-term injured reserve.
Chabot, 26, has spent his complete profession within the Canadian capital since Ottawa drafted him 18th total in 2015. His development right into a top-pairing caliber defender hasn’t expedited the Senators’ post-Erik Karlsson rebuild as that they had hoped, however that’s removed from being Chabot’s fault. His eight-year, $64M extension signed in 2019 has aged properly, as he’s produced at a 0.62 factors per recreation clip over the lifetime of the deal and has averaged practically 26 minutes per contest for the reason that 2020-21 marketing campaign started. He’s traditionally been a optimistic possession drive on a staff that’s struggled to manage play and stays probably the most invaluable all-around defenseman on the roster.
That’s why a second long-term absence for him this season is so demoralizing for a staff that lastly appeared to be gaining traction, going 6-4-0 of their previous ten video games. Chabot had performed simply two video games since getting back from a right-hand fracture that saved him out for all of November. The Senators are nonetheless on the .500 mark and sit solely forward of the Buffalo Sabres by way of factors proportion within the Atlantic Division. They continue to be squarely out of the playoff image because the calendar shifts to December. MoneyPuck lists their playoff odds at 30.9% on the time of writing, although. Given what number of video games in hand they’ve on the remainder of the league, they’re one sizzling streak away from placing themselves again within the postseason dialog.
It’ll be troublesome with out Chabot, nonetheless, as his absence creates a domino impact felt all through the Senators’ blueline. Head coach D.J. Smith has tried to alleviate this by spreading out the Sens’ three finest remaining defenders – Jakob Chychrun, Jake Sanderson and Artem Zub – on three completely different pairings. That also means giving more durable assignments than desired to depth defenders like Jacob Bernard-Docker and Travis Hamonic, although, and managing his blueliners’ ice time will all of the sudden turn out to be a vital a part of Smith’s job – so long as he nonetheless has it. Exterior stress is mounting for the Senators to make a change behind the bench after an all-too-familiar sluggish begin, however beneath new possession and administration, the Senators appear content to let Smith prepared the ground for some time longer.
Chabot has 4 assists in 9 video games on the season whereas averaging 24:22 per recreation.