Ottawa Senators defenceman Thomas Chabot will return to the roster when his team takes on the Florida Panthers on Thursday night, just 17 days after breaking his arm.
The assistant captain was scheduled to be out of action for four to eight weeks after taking a cross-check to his right forearm from New York Ranger J.T. Miller on March 23.
He had surgery exactly two weeks ago.
But during Thursday’s morning skate at Canadian Tire Centre, Chabot appeared in a regular contact jersey with teammate Jordan Spence, signaling he might be ready to make an early return.
The team soon confirmed the news online: “He’s back,” the Senators wrote on X. “17 days after suffering a broken arm Chabby is good to go tonight.”
Senators coach Travis Green also confirmed Chabot’s return.
“I shocked the world,” Chabot quipped to reporters following the morning skate.
“It’s a lot faster than I expected,” he said of his remarkable recovery, crediting the team’s medical staff. “They spent a lot of time with me. I’m lucky, but it’s the best-case scenario and I’m just happy to be back.”
Thursday’s game against Florida closes out a five-game home stand for the Senators.
Ottawa is sitting in the final wild card spot in the East with four games left to secure their ticket to the playoffs despite a slew of defensive injuries that forced them to dip deep into their depth chart.
