Brady Tkachuk will be out 6-8 weeks for the Ottawa Senators after having surgery on his right thumb, the team announced Thursday.

The Senators captain was injured during a 4-1 loss to the Nashville Predators on Monday when he was cross-checked by defenseman Roman Josi in the first period. Tkachuk stayed in the game before missing the last 9:04 of the third period.

“We are going to miss him,” Senators coach Travis Green said Wednesday. “You don’t replace guys like that, but we’ve always had the mindset of next man up. It’s another opportunity. Teams are going to have injuries, that’s part of the NHL.”

Tkachuk has three assists in three games this season for Ottawa (1-3-0), which lost 8-4 to the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday. He had 55 points (29 goals, 26 assists) in 72 games last season, helping the Senators qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2016-17.

“He’s a big part of our team and it’s tough to lose him, but it’s got to be a little of a next-man-up mentality right now,” forward David Perron said. “We can’t worry about who’s playing and who’s not. We’ve got to just go out there and get the job done.”

Selected by Ottawa with the No. 4 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, the 26-year-old forward has 407 points (191 goals, 216 assists) in 515 regular-season games and seven points (four goals, three assists) in six playoff games.

Tkachuk leads the NHL in penalty minutes (754) since entering the League in 2018-19 and is second in hits (1,769) behind Radko Gudas (1,839).

“Obviously, you never want to see a guy get hurt, especially a captain, so it’s time for some guys to step up,” forward Michael Amadio said. “… It’s not one guy, it’s everyone kind of coming together to fill that role.”

In June, Tkachuk was among the first six players named to the United States roster for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. His brother, Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk, was also named. They were teammates for the U.S. at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.

“Obviously, that’s a huge part of our lineup, our captain and a guy that plays the game hard, so we all know that we’ve got to bring our A game,” forward Dylan Cozens said. “We’ve got to play hard. We’ve got to step up while he’s out.”