Sometimes, you have those days where nothing goes your way. The Senators traded star defenseman Erik Karlsson on Thursday, and then news came out that Jean-Gabriel Pageau could reportedly miss four to six months and require surgery to repair his Achilles, per Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports. Pageau, a second-line center, had 29 points for the Senators last season, 14 of them coming on goals.
Pageau reportedly sustained his injury during training camp testing on Thursday, according to Dean Brown of the Senators Radio Network.
2018 will be the second year of Pageau's three-year deal worth $9.3 million. The 25-year-old has played six seasons for Ottawa since being selected in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.
Pageau's injury means that the Senators will have to have someone step into his role. The most likely candidate would be Zack Smith, although Chris Tierney and Logan Smith are also waiting in the wings.
The Senators are in the middle of a rebuild, one that they likely want Pageau to be a part of, so the small silver lining is that there's no need to rush him back. However, this injury only puts more pressure on Matt Duchene, and given the Karlsson news, any more personnel going down is a debilitating prospect for Senators fans.
