The 35-year-old center sustained the injury late in the second period of a 5-4 overtime win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday. Brassard got tangled with Flyers goaltender Felix Sandstrom and defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen at the side of the goal before falling awkwardly. He had to be carried off the ice by his teammates.
"First off, if any one of your players gets severely injured, it impacts not only the bench but the whole staff," Senators coach D.J. Smith said Saturday. "We're like a family in here. We hang out, you know, how many days a year? To watch a guy screaming like that is not ideal."
Brassard, who signed a one-year, $750,000 contract with Ottawa in October after attending training camp on a professional tryout, has 23 points (13 goals, 10 assists) in 62 games this season.
"He's given us a lot of good games, and he's provided us with a lot of leadership," Smith said. "He's helped with that second power play. He's got 13 goals. He's had a heck of a year and we're going to miss him."
Brassard, who played his 1,000th NHL game on March 2, has 545 points (215 goals, 330 assists) in 1,013 regular-season games with the Senators, Edmonton Oilers, Flyers, Arizona Coyotes, New York Islanders, Colorado Avalanche, Florida Panthers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Rangers, and Columbus Blue Jackets.
When asked whether the injury could potentially be career ending, Smith said, "That's for him to decide."
"That's a tough injury," he said. "Where he's at, that's 100 percent his choice. But that's a tough one."
The Senators (37-34-5) are six points behind the Florida Panthers for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
