Senators Lose Nick Jensen for Rest of Season

A tough break for the Ottawa Senators, who have learned that veteran defenseman Nick Jensen is officially done for the season. As Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen writes, Jensen will be undergoing knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus, and he "has likely suited up for his last game with the Ottawa Senators."

Nick Jensen will miss about six weeks due to a knee injury, per @SunGarrioch.

He has likely played his last game with the Ottawa Senators. pic.twitter.com/G883ShDrxb
— PuckEmpire (@puckempire) March 17, 2026

Jensen is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, and the team has no intention of offering him a new contract. And while the six-week recovery timeline could mean that he could return if the Senators make the playoffs AND make it to the second round, it wouldn't be a good wager to bet on that. They are currently four points back of the last Wild Card berth, with Columbus also ahead of them in that chase.

Nick Jensen had a tough year, was coming off hip surgery

Head coach Travis Green made the announcement of Jensen's impending surgery and being lost to the team for the balance of the regular season.

“I feel bad for him… We didn’t think originally it would end up going this way. It’s going to be best for him that he does the surgery, and he’ll be back to 100 per cent for sure.”

Just not with the Senators.

Jensen last played this past Wednesday (Mar. 11) and had played 61 games for the Sens this season, missing three games due to healthy scratches. He compiled four goals and 17 points with a minus-2 rating, while blocking 66 shots. The 35-year-old played an average of 17 minutes per night, down three minutes of ice-time per game from last season.

That would most likely be attributed to his coming off a serious hip surgery last offseason. "The kind of surgery he had on his hip last year, the majority of players have that after they are done playing. He has struggled at times this year, and I wonder how much of that is due to the surgery. I don't expect him to re-sign in Ottawa," said play-by-play voice Dean Brown.

The 10-year veteran had spent six seasons with the Washington Capitals before coming to Ottawa, and almost three seasons with the Detroit Red Wings to start his career.