The Ottawa Senators have placed defenseman Artem Zub on long-term injured reserve as expected. In a corresponding roster move, the organization announced the LTIR placement and the recall of defenseman Donovan Sebrango from their AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators.
It’s an unfortunate but necessary transaction for the Senators after reports from this weekend indicated that Zub would be out ’for a while’ with a broken foot. Ottawa is likely still looking to add a defenseman via the trade market but will use Sebrango for now.
It’s becoming somewhat of a lost season for Zub. He’s already missed time in mid-to-late October with a concussion and could miss as many as two months due to the broken foot. As arguably the team’s best right-handed shooting defenseman, Sebrango will have big shoes to fill.
He’s in the second year of a four-year, $18.4MM extension originally signed in 2022. He’s tallied two assists over 11 games with the Senators this year and posted a respectable +0.5 E +/- according to Hockey Reference.
The only silver lining to the injury is that Sebrango has a clear path toward making his NHL debut. He was originally drafted with the 63rd overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft by the Detroit Red Wings, making his way to the Senators organization in the trade sending Alex DeBrincat to Detroit over a year ago.
Sebrango, 22, is in his fourth professional season collecting seven goals and 31 points in 184 games between the Grand Rapids Griffins and Belleville. There may be some initial discipline issues (149 PIMs in the AHL) but he allows Ottawa to win more puck battles in the defensive zone.
The Senators don’t play until tomorrow night against the San Jose Sharks which would be an ideal matchup for Sebrango’s first game. They’ll likely play him next to Thomas Chabot or Jake Sanderson to lessen his initial responsibility if he does make his debut tomorrow.