Injuries cloud start of Ottawa Senators camp as Travis Green calls on team to 'be better'

Veteran defenceman Artem Zub and winger Warren Foegele are both on the ice skating individually, but coach Travis Green told reporters that neither player will be skating with the two main groups when practice gets underway on Thursday.

Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager, told the Ottawa Citizen last week that he hoped that Zub would be ready for the start of the season on Oct. 3 against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena.

Staios also said before the club’s golf tournament on Sept. 8 that he had a list of players the organization could invite to camp on professional tryouts, and it appears the Senators may be prepared to dip into the unsigned free agent pool.

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If the Senators go that route, the talk in league circles is that it will either be Ben Hutton, who spent the last five years with the Vegas Golden Knights, or former Buffalo Sabres defenceman Logan Stanley.

The 33-year-old Hutton, a Brockville native, is considered the frontrunner. He did play for Green in Vancouver, so there is a connection there.

While Green didn’t give any insight into what’s wrong with Foegele, who was acquired from the Los Angeles Kings in March, Zub is still recovering from the effects of a hit he made on Seth Jarvis during the club’s playoff series against the Carolina Hurricanes in April.

We believe that Zub is recovering from a knee injury he suffered as a result of the hit. What’s not clear is whether he had surgery as a result of the ailment. There is no definitive timeline on either player, but it sounds doubtful they’ll play in the preseason.

“They’re skating,” Green said of Foegele and Zub. “I always tell you that when guys are skating, they’re close. I would expect both of them to be with the team in the next week or two.”