Blue Jackets basic supervisor Don Waddell introduced Thursday that captain Boone Jenner will likely be out indefinitely after present process shoulder surgical procedure. “Our hope is he can return earlier than the top of the season,” Waddell mentioned, however there’s no assure he’ll go well with up in any respect in 2024-25. Waddell later added Jenner could be out for at the very least 5 months, marking the start of March as his earliest alternative to return, per Michael Russo of The Athletic.
Jenner sustained the damage in observe final week after shedding an edge and crashing into the boards. After touchdown on IR earlier than the season-opening rosters have been due, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic indicated he may very well be out a number of months. Thursday’s information isn’t fairly the worst-case state of affairs for Jenner, but it surely’s definitely not promising.
The shoulder surgical procedure provides to an extended record of accidents that’s prevented Jenner from taking part in greater than 70 video games in a season for the reason that COVID-19 pandemic. Whereas the 31-year-old has been a useful piece for Columbus, placing up one of the best offensive numbers of his profession after assuming the captaincy in 2021, a damaged jaw and recurring again issues have truncated his final three campaigns at 59, 68 and 58 video games, respectively.
A Blue Jackets lifer, Jenner was a second-round choose of Columbus again in 2011. His profession averages counsel the offensive output of a squarely middle-six middle, posting 22 objectives and 42 factors per 82 video games. However he’s averaged over 20 minutes per recreation within the final three years and with elevated utilization has come elevated manufacturing. The Ontario native has produced a 32-goal, 55-point clip per 82 video games for the reason that 2021-22 marketing campaign. He’s executed so on a bargain-bin four-year, $15M extension he signed earlier than his 2021 resurgence — some will bear in mind his 30-goal, 49-point breakout marketing campaign for the Jackets manner again in 2015-16.
Jenner’s absence will deprive Columbus of their prime ahead for many of the season, diminishing the effectiveness of an already skinny group. He was anticipated to shift to the wing from middle this 12 months, so Adam Fantilli and Sean Monahan gained’t see a lot of a rise in accountability from their already-anticipated top-six roles. However Jenner’s damage will result in extra ice time for late-summer UFA pickups Kevin Labanc and James van Riemsdyk, who now every undertaking to play tonight’s season opener in second-line roles flanking Fantilli, per the crew’s Jeff Svoboda.
In way more optimistic information, winger Dmitri Voronkov, who additionally began the season on IR, isn’t anticipated to overlook almost as a lot time as Jenner together with his upper-body damage, per Waddell. He doesn’t require surgical procedure and will return by the top of subsequent month, Svoboda relays.
