Senators' Brady Tkachuk Out 6-to-8 Weeks After Surgery on Thumb Injury

Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk is set to miss six-to-eight weeks after undergoing surgery on a right thumb injury, the team announced Thursday.

The news comes after head coach Travis Green told reporters Tuesday Tkachuk could miss "a significant amount of time" because of the injury.

"He's going to miss a significant amount of time. We'll know more in the next 24 hours," Green said Tuesday (h/t Reuters). "We don't know exactly, but it's four weeks plus."

Tkachuk appeared to suffer the injury after a hit by Nashville Predators captain Roman Josi in the first period of the Sens' 4-1 Monday loss.

Tkachuk returned to log almost 14 minutes of ice time, although he did not record a shift for the final nine minutes of the game.

Green said Tkachuk didn't aggravate the injury by continuing to play after the hit, per McKenzie.

The injury news is a major blow for a team hoping for a healthier season from their captain after multiple injuries impacted his 2024-25 campaign.

Tkachuk missed time last season after suffering a hip injury while playing for Team USA in last February's 4 Nations Face-Off. He then suffered an upper-body injury in a March 30 game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

After the Sens were eliminated in the first round from their first playoff run in eight years, Tkachuk declined to identify the second injury. He did say it had given him time to recover from the hip issue before the postseason.

Despite those injuries, Tkachuk still led the Sens with 29 goals and ranked fourth on the team with 55 points through 72 games last season.

Tkachuk told Bleacher Report in August that it took longer than he had expected to return to 100 percent this summer, but that "at this point, this is probably the best I've ever felt going into a season."

The captain then posted three assists in three games during the Sens' 1-2 start to the 2025-26 season before suffering his latest injury.

Given the importance of Tkachuk's physical presence on both a first line centered by Tim Stützle and the top power play unit, the Sens will hope to see him back on the ice as soon as possible. Wingers like Fabian Zetterlund or David Perron could get a shot at playing alongside Stützle while Tkachuk recovers.