Blue Jackets lose 2 important players to injuries as season opener nears

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Columbus Blue Jackets faced an uphill battle already this season, but the challenge has become dramatically steeper.

On Friday, Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner lost an edge during a practice drill and slammed into the boards, suffering an upper-body injury that the club was still working to diagnose a few hours later. Jenner left practice with Nates Goto, a member of the training staff, and did not return.

Also on Friday, the Blue Jackets placed winger Dmitry Voronkov on injured reserve with an upper-body injury suffered on the first shift of Thursday’s preseason loss to Pittsburgh in Nationwide Arena.

The Blue Jackets, under new general manager Don Waddell and coach Dean Evason, will no longer make public an injured player’s timeline for return, Evason told reporters on Friday.

But neither player is expected to be available for next Thursday’s season opener against the Minnesota Wild and perhaps beyond, according to a team source. This is a massive blow for the Blue Jackets, who can ill-afford a wave of injuries like that ones that helped ruin the last two seasons.

Waddell was already spending considerable time each day attempting to add another NHL forward so that he could allow his collection of young, depth forwards to return to AHL Cleveland and continue their development.

As of yet, the NHL waiver wire has not produced any names that have prompted Waddell to act, but that could change in the next few days as clubs face a Monday deadline to pare their rosters to no more than 23 players.

Waddell has also been active in trade talks with several of his fellow general managers, he’s said, but he has yet to find a deal that interests him.

Now the need for NHL bodies has become more desperate.

If Jenner should land on injured reserve along with Voronkov, that would leave the Blue Jackets with only 12 forwards in camp, including Owen Sillinger, Dylan Gambrell and Mikael Pyythiä, who just two days ago were in a battle for the final roster spot at forward.

Now, even if Waddell claims a player on waivers or swings a trade, they all three could make the club.

Also this week, forward Gavin Brindley, who was also in the battle for a final roster, spot, suffered a broken finger while blocking a shot in a preseason game. He’s expected to miss four to six weeks.

(Photo of Boone Jenner: Patrick Smith / Getty Images)