Senators Jake Sanderson's Week-to-Week Injury Revealed

Ottawa Senators defenseman Jake Sanderson reacts during 2026 game.

The Ottawa Senators have been hit with a brutal blow at the worst possible time, as top defenseman Jake Sanderson is now out week to week with what head coach Travis Green initially called an upper-body injury.

Now, according to Jimmy Murphy of RG.org, he believes Sanderson is dealing with a separated shoulder after crashing hard into the boards on a hit from Brandon Montour in Saturday’s win over the Seattle Kraken.

Hearing #GoSensGo defenseman Jake Sanderson’s injury is a separated shoulder. @sickpodnhl
— Jimmy Murphy (@MurphysLaw74) March 9, 2026

Ottawa has been pushing hard to stay alive in the Eastern Conference race, sitting three points back of the final wild-card spot, and losing Sanderson changes everything.

The 23-year-old has been one of the best defensemen in hockey this season, piling up 11 goals and 37 assists for 48 points in 62 games while averaging a career-high 24:49 per night.

He has also been driving play at an elite level and had entered the Norris Trophy conversation during a breakout campaign that was starting to draw comparisons to some of the best seasons ever played by a Senators blue liner.

Jake Sanderson injury leaves Senators in a tough spot

The play itself looked bad right away.

Sanderson was sent awkwardly into the boards by Montour, skated off in visible discomfort while holding his right shoulder, and never returned. No penalty was called on the hit, but the damage was done.

Here’s the hit that resulted in Jake Sanderson leaving for the locker room. You can see him grab his shoulder as he exits the ice. Not good. pic.twitter.com/xw50SnzOcR
— SENS TALK (@senstalk_) March 8, 2026

Green confirmed Monday that Sanderson will miss time, and Murphy’s report that it is a separated shoulder gives Ottawa a much better idea of what it is dealing with moving forward, although they obviously knew that already, but didn't make it public.

While there is some belief he may avoid surgery, this is still a major loss for a team that has leaned heavily on him in every situation.

A stat explaining how vital and good Jake Sanderson is for the Ottawa Senators. pic.twitter.com/R37xTri8cD
— Alex Adams (@alexadamsBTP_) March 8, 2026

The Senators will now need Thomas Chabot, Nick Jensen, Tyler Kleven, Jordan Spence, and Nikolas Matinpalo to absorb a much larger workload, with Matinpalo stepping back into the lineup and Dennis Gilbert recalled from Belleville for extra depth.

Ottawa has earned points in 10 of its last 11 games and Linus Ullmark has been outstanding, but Sanderson is not the kind of player you replace easily.

If the Senators are going to stay in the playoff hunt without him, they will need their structure to hold, their goaltending to stay hot, and their blue line to survive without the player who has arguably been their most important piece all season.