The last-place Columbus Blue Jackets are expected to lose their top defenseman Zach Werenski for the rest of the season.
Werenski suffered a separated shoulder and torn labrum in Thursday’s 5-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers, according to a news release. He’s expected to miss at least the rest of the regular season.
The Blue Jackets also placed Jakub Voracek on the injured reserve retroactive to Nov. 5, meaning he could return for Saturday’s matchup against the New York Islanders.
With defenseman Nick Blankenburg and center Sean Kuraly also going on the injured reserve on Friday, the Blue Jackets called up defensemen Gavin Bayreuther, Marcus Bjork and David Jiricek on an emergency basis from AHL Cleveland.
Losing Werenski will hurt a lot. The Blue Jackets’ alternate captain has eight points in 13 games, tied for second on the team. The next highest-scoring defenseman on the team is Jake Bean with four points, and he averages 15:49 minutes of ice time on the third pairing with Erik Gudbranson.
Werenski averages 23:36 minutes of ice time, nearly two minutes more than the next Blue Jackets defenseman, Vladislav Gavrikov, who’s known more for his blocked shots and hits than points. And with Werenski’s defense partner Blankenburg out as well, the first pairing is gone for the time being.
Columbus has had an unfortunate encounter with the injury bug this early in the season. They already missed Patrik Laine for six games with an elbow sprain, and once he returned, Justin Danforth went on the injured reserve and is expected to miss six months after suffering a torn labrum as well.
Blueliner Adam Boqvist also hasn’t played since Oct. 25 after suffering a broken foot. He’s expected to miss four more weeks.
After signing star forward Johnny Gaudreau to a seven-year, $68.25-million contract this past off-season, GM Jarmo Kekalainen has a lot of work to do if the retooling Blue Jackets want to turn things around this season. The team has a 4-9-0 record, and Thursday’s win snapped a five-game losing streak. Columbus has the third most goals against in the NHL and the second-worst goal differential at minus-22.
While there’s still time to bounce back, the tough injuries to Werenski will make it that more difficult for Columbus to think about playoff contention in a competitive Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference.
