The Ottawa Senators announced that defenceman Mark Borowiecki is sidelined indefinitely with a lower-body injury.

Mark Borowiecki has a torn Tib/Fib ligament in his ankle. — TSN 1200 (@TSN1200) February 25, 2020

Mark Borowiecki Injured

Borowiecki was injured in the third period against the Arizona Coyotes on February 14th and has now been moved tot he injured reserve list.

Borowiecki was on pace for a career season this year before the injury. So far in 2019-20 he’s scored seven goals and 18 points and tallied a relatively low 58 minutes in penalties.

He is an original draft pick of the Senators. The hard-hitting veteran was drafted in 2008, coming in the fifth round and 139th overall. After seasons of two, three, and six games he finally joined the team full-time in 2014-15. In his 375-game career, he’s scored 15 goals and 51 points to go with 647 penalty minutes.

The well-liked Borowiecki had just returned to the team from the birth of his son on February 14th. He then played just one game against Arizona before being injured. He’s now been moved to the injured reserve list with the confirmation of torn ligaments in his ankle.

What This Means for the Future

The Senators have relied on Borowiecki to clear the front of the net and make opposing forwards think twice before entering the zone. His 199 hits easily leads the defence, behind only Brady Tkachuk overall. But his physical game has always limited the number of games he could play, managing 70 in a season just once. It’s going to be a challenge to get other defenders to step up into that role.

He’s added some scoring to his game this year, to everyone’s surprise, including his first professional career short-handed goal. Goal scoring is obviously not what he was signed for, but it’s always a welcome addition.

Borowiecki is in the second of a two-year, $2.4 million deal, and this injury couldn’t come at a worse time for him. The team is obviously skewing younger, but there may be a place for him yet as a free agent.

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