Senators goalie coach says Anders Nilsson still has concussion symptoms

Ottawa Senators goalie coach Pierre Groulx says Anders Nilsson is still battling concussion symptoms and his availability for the upcoming season may be in jeopardy as a result.

"Right now, it's still status quo. He has good days and bad days," Groulx said, according to the Ottawa Citizen's Bruce Garrioch. "It's still headache related and neck and eyes related and we're going to wait to see him in Ottawa and see how he is. When he was hurt, he was playing outstanding hockey. It's disappointing because (Nilsson) is such a great guy.

"You don't want to see that happen but it's an injury where you have to think of the health first. We'll see what happens when he comes into Ottawa."

The 30-year-old suffered a concussion on Dec. 16 and didn't appear in a game the rest of the 2019-20 season.

Nilsson is the projected primary backup goaltender to newly acquired Matt Murray. The Senators have plenty of options if Nilsson is unable to go when the season eventually kicks off, including Marcus Hogberg and Joey Daccord.

The Swedish netminder appeared in 20 games during the 2019-20 season, recording a .908 save percentage and 3.18 goals-against average.

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