Blue Jackets Activate Damon Severson

The Blue Jackets welcomed back a key defender tonight against Pittsburgh.  The team announced that Damon Severson was activated off the injured/non-roster list and added to the active roster.  To punctuate the return, he scored in the opening period of tonight’s game.

The 32-year-old missed the start of the season while continuing to recover from shoulder surgery back in March that ended his 2025-26 campaign prematurely.

Severson has had an interesting first three years in Columbus.  He played a big role with them in 2023-24 but his role started to dip the following year to the point where he was a healthy scratch late when they were trying to secure a playoff spot.  Certainly not an ideal outcome for a veteran on an eight-year, $50MM contract.

But Severson bounced back nicely last season before the injury.  He played in 71 games, tallying eight goals and 24 assists while seeing his playing time jump back over 21 minutes per night.  He was jumping right back into a big role, playing alongside Zach Werenski on the top pairing.

Columbus had two open roster spots so no corresponding move needed to be made to bring Severson back to their lineup.  Since they’re not clearing anyone off their roster, however, they remain in LTIR, a spot they’ve been in since the beginning of the season.