Blue Jackets' Alexandre Texier granted leave of absence

The nightmare season for Alexandre Texier continues. The young forward has been granted an indefinite leave of absence from the Columbus Blue Jackets for personal reasons. Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen explained:

"Recently, Tex has experienced personal losses of people very close to him and our priority right now is to support him in every way possible. We are going to give him the time he needs and look forward to welcoming him back to the Blue Jackets family when he is ready."

Texier, 22, hasn’t played since January because of a fractured finger, which stopped a successful season in its tracks. He had 11 goals 20 points in 36 games before the injury took him out of the lineup, with still no clear date for his return. Now, with this personal loss, it’s completely unclear when Texier will hit the ice again for the Blue Jackets.

The young French forward has scored 22 goals and 39 points in his 123-game NHL career to this point after bursting onto the scene as a teenager in 2019. Signed through 2022-23 at a $1.525M cap hit, he has also been included in some trade speculation, though the team has never seemed eager to move him. Something like this should put all of that speculation on pause, as the Blue Jackets and the rest of hockey support Texier while he goes through this period.