Senators’ Sanderson sent back to Ottawa as Green stays vague on Ullmark

The Ottawa Senators will be without Jake Sanderson for at least two more games after the defenceman was sent back to Ottawa for further evaluation, while head coach Travis Green continues to offer limited detail on the health of his players. Green maintains that goaltender Linus Ullmark is “fine” even as the club brought up Jonas Johansson ahead of a meeting with the Detroit Red Wings.

Sanderson leaves road trip after another shortened outing

Sanderson had already missed time during the pre-season, but Green had said he expected him to be ready for opening night. The blueliner skipped multiple practices and saw only a brief stint of around 13 minutes in one exhibition game before exiting around the midway mark.

In the regular-season opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Sanderson’s return was short-lived again. He logged just 4:39 of ice time before remaining on the bench for the rest of the first period and not coming back at all. On the play in question, he became tangled up with Nick Paul and went into the boards, though there was no obvious sign of a dangerous incident.

Following that game in Toronto, Green confirmed that Sanderson had flown back to Ottawa as the Senators were just starting a three-game road swing. Ottawa has since recorded wins over both the Maple Leafs and the Boston Bruins and now turns its attention to the Red Wings without a key piece of its defence corps.

Ullmark “fine” as Ersson starts and Johansson recalled

Green’s cautious messaging has also come under the microscope in the case of Ullmark. After a collision in front of his net, Ullmark appeared uncomfortable but stayed in for the final four minutes of the second period. Sam Ersson took over for the third, with Ullmark remaining on the bench.

Post-game, Green told reporters that Ullmark had “kind of tweaked something a little bit” and described the move as precautionary, saying the staff “felt it was best if we bring him out” and have him checked again. Ahead of the matchup with Detroit, he reiterated that Ullmark was “fine,” noting that with games on back-to-back nights, the goaltender might not have started regardless.

In the meantime, Ottawa recalled Johansson, who had performed well in two appearances with AHL Belleville after being claimed on waivers following the loss of Leevi Merilainen. Johansson will serve as the backup behind Ersson against the Red Wings, while Ullmark’s status will be monitored in the coming days.

Injury transparency under scrutiny as betting ties grow

Green’s approach reflects a broader trend around the NHL, where coaches are increasingly tight-lipped about injuries and often limit descriptions to generic upper- or lower-body labels. The league’s collective bargaining agreement does not require the level of specificity seen in the NFL, which obliges teams to identify the injured body part as part of strict reporting rules tied in part to that league’s relationship with sports betting.

For NHL teams, the looser framework offers players more privacy and reduces the risk of opponents targeting vulnerable areas. At the same time, the league’s expanding partnerships with gambling companies could eventually drive calls for clearer information. In Ottawa, fans are already questioning how far the Senators should go in explaining what, exactly, is keeping Sanderson and Ullmark from full duty.