Five injuries that sunk the Columbus Blue Jackets' season
Unlike their peers in the NHL’s cellar, the Blue Jackets didn’t expect to be there.
After signing Johnny Gaudreau, the biggest fish available in free agency last summer, they hoped to compete for a playoff spot. Instead, two early injuries contributed to a 3-9-0 start that spiraled out of control thanks to season-long glut of health issues.
More: The race for last place: Where the Blue Jackets stand in the Connor Bedard sweepstakes
Here are five injuries that squashed the Blue Jackets’ hopes and turned an optimistic outlook into a nightmarish plunge to the bottom:
Patrik Laine’s elbow injury
Three shifts into the second period of the season-opener, the Blue Jackets were dealt a critical blow.
After scoring the season’s first goal to put Columbus up 1-0 in what ultimately ended up a 4-1 loss at the Carolina Hurricanes, Patrik Laine sustained a sprained right elbow while forechecking.
All the preseason effort from Laine, Gaudreau and Boone Jenner to develop chemistry was thrown out the window, and the Blue Jackets went 3-4-0 before he returned. They also lost their next five games and went 4-9-1 before another injury — a sprained ankle Nov. 12 at the New York Islanders ― cost him seven more games.
Cole Sillinger’s concussion precedes sophomore slump
Less than 20 minutes into the first practice of training camp, Cole Sillinger sustained a concussion. He missed the bulk of the preseason and was rusty starting out.
It turned out to be a big setback for the 19-year-old center, who scored 16 goals as a rookie last year.
A prolonged sophomore slump, limited Sillinger to three goals, eight assists and 11 points in 64 games before he was assigned to the Cleveland Monsters to help their late push at qualifying for the AHL’s Calder Cup playoffs.
Justin Danforth’s shoulder tear removes ‘Swiss Army knife’ from lineup
After proving himself in the NHL at age 28, Justin Danforth put in a lot of hard work for this season. He earned rave reviews from Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen, who touted the feisty forward for his versatility as a “Swiss Army knife.”
It didn’t last long.
Danforth had two goals and one assist in the first six games before tearing a shoulder labrum in a win Oct. 20 over the Nashville Predators. He played one more game, an Oct. 22 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, before learning that surgery was necessary.
Jakub Voracek’s concussion subtracts playmaker, leader
As if getting blown out by the Colorado Avalanche twice in Finland wasn’t bad enough, the Blue Jackets also lost forward Jakub Voracek for the season to a concussion in the first game.
It was the result of a four-minute, high-sticking infraction by Colorado’s Dryden Hunt. Voracek said he had already endured “seven or eight” documented concussions in his 15-year career, and so this latest head injury might end his playing career.
Voracek, the Blue Jackets’ leading scorer from last season who had one year left on his contract, was dealt to the Arizona Coyotes before the trade deadline.
Zach Werenski’s awkward fall takes out Columbus Blue Jackets’ top defenseman
Nobody in the Blue Jackets' locker room has more experience dealing with injuries than defenseman Zach Werenski. He’s been struck in the face by a puck, dealt with multiple shoulder issues before this season and tore the labrum in his right shoulder Nov. 10 in a 5-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.
Werenski’s awkward fall attempting to deliver a hit landed him in the operating room again and his loss is hard to overstate.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Five injuries that sunk the Columbus Blue Jackets
