The Columbus Blue Jackets have announced that Zach Werenski is done for the regular season. He suffered a separated shoulder and torn labrum last night and will require surgery and ample time to rehab before returning to the NHL.
It was known that there was likely an announcement coming that was not good news for the team after the game Thursday night. Head coach Brad Larsen said on Zach Werenski’s injury. “It’s not good (news) on Z. It’s not good at all.” That didn’t leave people with a good feeling, but that he’s done for the season is awful news. It would be one thing if he could potentially make it back for the playoffs, but the way Columbus has started this season, it’s not clear they’ll make the postseason. In fact, this loss could lean the Blue Jackets closer to being a lottery team.
Werenski played through a left shoulder injury in 2017-18 and had post-season surgery. An injury to the same shoulder caused him to miss time during the 2019-20 season. It’s good news that this is the other shoulder, but it’s bad news that he keeps having shoulder problems.
In other moves, the Blue Jackets have placed defenseman Nick Blankenburg, center Sean Kuraly and left-winger Jakub Voracek on IR. They’ve also added defensemen Gavin Bayreuther, Marcus Bjork, and David Jiricek to the roster on emergency recall.
This Werenski news could lead to trade rumors regarding Gustav Nyquist, Vladislav Gavrikov, and Joonas Korpisalo, all scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency at the end of the year. The Blue Jackets will receive $9.5 million in cap space due to the LTIR move, and if they want to try and save the season could go shopping on the market. That feels unlikely.
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