OTTAWA — Exactly two weeks after surgery to his right forearm, Thomas Chabot is returning to the Senators lineup on Thursday as Ottawa hosts the Florida Panthers.
“A lot faster than expected,” Chabot told the media about his recovery following the Senators morning skate at the Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday.
“Basically broke my arm, it’s as simple as that. Then we went under surgery, everything went well, and obviously the healing process obviously went a lot quicker than we all expected. It’s fun to be back out here.”
The defenceman suffered the injury on March 23 in New York after Rangers forward J.T Miller cross-checked him.
Sens head coach Travis Green told the media Chabot had surgery on March 26 and would be out “four to six to eight” weeks, so having the defenceman return exactly two weeks after the surgery is nothing short of amazing.
“I think we’re pretty mind blown to be honest with you,” said teammate Jordan Spence following the Senators morning skate.
“Speaks volumes of his preparation, work ethic and commitment two weeks post-surgery,” said captain Brady Tkachuk to the media. “I mean, [Chabot] is a beast. He’s a guy that battles through anything and will do whatever it takes to get back.”
There are many questions as to how Chabot was able to return so quickly given the extent of the surgery, which involved having a couple of plates and screws inserted into the arm, according to Chabot.
“We got it moving pretty early, and obviously the first couple of days you feel kind of rough. Couple days after you feel like you get more range and strength. Now we’re at the point two weeks in where everybody feels comfortable. Been skating a lot the last four or five days,” Chabot said. “There’s nothing really holding me back, so I thought I want to go back out there and play hockey and help this team.”
The Senators are in the middle of a playoff race. They’re currently in the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with a two-point lead over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Some of Chabot’s motivation to return is to help get the team over the finish line and into the postseason.
“The team has been doing well. It’s that time of the year you want to be a part of it. You don’t want to be sitting out,” said Chabot, who has missed the past eight games.
“Obviously there’s nobody that’s pushing more than myself the last couple of days. I wanted to play hockey….I wasn’t going to go back out there if I felt like I couldn’t do what I can do out there. The last couple of days, we kind of built it up and every time I faced contact and what not, everything reacted really well, so I was like, why not, let’s start playing again.”
Chabot has been averaging 22:34 minutes of ice time per game this season. The left-shot defenceman was paired with Spence during morning skate and has also quarterbacked one of the Senators power-play units this season.
He admitted he doesn’t feel 100 per cent, but added that no one in the league is completely healthy at this time of year.
“Hopefully I’ll be good,” he said. “It’s just like any other injury. One of the first games you come back you try to keep it simple and get back into the rhythm of things.”
The Senators have played with 12 different defencemen since the Olympic break as injuries have plagued the blueline. Jake Sanderson returned from injury on April 4 after missing 13 games with an upper-body injury.
“When you get hurt you sit up in the press box and it seems like an easy game,” Chabot said. “But I know how hard it is down there and tight. Seeing the guys step up and play such good hockey definitely makes it better for you in a rehab process.”
