The Ottawa Senators are expected to be at a disadvantage before the puck even drops for their season opener against the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday night.

Ottawa appears to be going with 11 forwards and six defensemen due to salary-cap issues and injuries to forwards Josh Norris and Zack MacEwen.

The Senators thought Norris would be ready to play in the preseason after he had shoulder surgery that ended his 2022-23 campaign. He still isn't ready to return, but the club is choosing not to place him on long-term injured reserve.

Norris would miss 10 games or 24 days if he lands on LTIR, but it'd free up his $7.95-million cap hit and allow Ottawa to add a player to the roster.

To complicate matters, MacEwen is now hurt as well. He didn't skate Wednesday and has been considered day-to-day with an upper-body ailment.

The Senators only have approximately $63,000 in cap space, according to CapFriendly.

Because of the club's cap constraints, it hasn't been able to re-sign Shane Pinto, who's essentially a restricted free agent (he's a "10.2c" player who hasn't played enough to qualify for the standard "Group 2" RFA status).

The 22-year-old forward scored 20 goals and added 15 assists while playing all 82 games in his first full campaign last season.

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