"Technically, goaltender Pascal Leclaire may still be a member of the Ottawa Senators. But as far as head coach Cory Clouston is concerned, the 28-year-old goaltender, who is in the final year of his contract, is finished for the season.
The 28-year-old goalie has been out since suffering a lower-body injury during the pre-game warm-up on Dec. 17 in Denver. While at times it has appeared that Leclaire was making progress in his recovery, even appearing briefly on the ice to do some mild stretching exercises, Clouston said on Wednesday that he hasn't improved at all recently.
Asked if Leclaire would be back this season, Clouston said, "I don't know," a departure from his view of two weeks ago.
But the true extent of Clouston's pessimism was evident when he said he had no choice but to plan the rest of the season based on the assumption that Leclaire would not be back.
"We have to do that," he said. "We have to proceed that way, as if he's not here, because as of right now, in the near horizon, he's not anywhere near being ready to play.
"We thought so maybe a couple of weeks ago, but his progression hasn't advanced, so right now your guess is as good as mine."
Leclaire also missed seven games at the start of the season with a different lower-body injury. The exact nature of either injury has never been disclosed.
Wednesday's game against Detroit was the 19th straight that Leclaire has missed. He is making $4.8 million US this season, with a salary-cap hit of $3.8 million.
Clouston said he didn't know if the current injury would require surgery.
"I couldn't tell you," he said. "I don't know and I don't know specifically what they would do surgery on, to be honest. So right now I'd have to say no to the surgery. But he definitely hasn't made any improvement in the last little while."
That would seem to open the door for Robin Lehner to serve an apprenticeship for the next two months to prepare for next season. With No. 1 Brian Elliott mired in an 11-game losing streak, the Senators need someone to stop the puck."
