Ice Chips: Senators expect D Sanderson to be ready for season opener

Ottawa Senators general manager Steve Staios said he is "confident" that star defenceman Jake Sanderson will be ready for the team's season opener on Saturday, and that fellow defenceman Artem Zub "won't be far behind" in terms of a return to the lineup, in an appearance on TSN1200 Ottawa.

Sanderson was pulled from the Senators' preseason finale last Saturday for 'precautionary' reasons, and according to The Athletic's Julian McKenzie, has missed some practices near the end of training camp.

The 24-year-old Sanderson finished 10th in Norris Trophy voting last season for the second consecutive year after scoring a career-high 14 goals and finishing with 54 points in 67 games.

Zub, 30, is dealing with a lingering knee injury that has persisted since the team's playoff series against the Carolina Hurricanes last season. The sixth-year player had five goals and 30 points a season ago.

The Senators open their regular season on Saturday against the Maple Leafs in Toronto.

The Colorado Avalanche have signed head coach Jared Bednar to a four-year contract extension.

Bednar was previously set to coach this season on an expiring contract. His new deal will run through the 2030-31 season.

The 54-year-old is entering his 11th season with the team and is the winningest coach in franchise history with a 445-262-75 in 782 games behind the bench.

Colorado has reached the playoffs in nine of his 10 seasons, winning the Stanley Cup in 2022. Bednar’s 60-40-1 (.594) record in the playoffs, is the sixth-best playoff winning percentage all time (min. 50 games).

The Avalanche won the Presidents’ Trophy last season, earning 121 points in the regular season before falling to the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final.

Bednar is one of eight head coaches to win the Presidents’ Trophy twice with the same team.

Colorado will open its 2026-27 season on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Kings.

Detroit Red Wings defenceman Simon Edvinsson has returned to Sweden as he continues to wait for a new contract as a restricted free agent.

Edvinsson, who spent training camp with the Red Wings, skated with Frolunda of the SHL on Wednesday, as relayed by Swedish reporter Andreas III Johnsson.

TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun reported Sunday that negotiations have been “a grind” between the two sides but were expected to continue this week ahead of Detroit’s opening game on Friday.

The 23-year-old blueliner did not play in any pre-season games for the Red Wings. He posted nine goals and 16 assists over 72 games last season.

Selected sixth overall by the Red Wings in 2021, the native of Sweden has 19 goals and 41 assists over 175 career games in Detroit.

Detroit opens their season on Friday against the visiting New York Rangers.