The Columbus Blue Jackets were hit with a brutal injury blow to captain Boone Jenner, who is set to undergo surgery on his thumb. The early expectation is that Jenner will miss at least a month of action, adding to the laundry list of injuries the Blue Jackets have dealt with already in 2022-23. With Jenner sidelined for a while, the Blue Jackets are staring down the barrel of a lost season, prompting fans to reignite the “Tank for Connor Bedard” calls.
Via Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, Jenner played two games with a fractured thumb, which he sustained Tuesday against the Florida Panthers, but will now be forced to miss at least a month while he recovers from surgery.
The Blue Jackets are off to a putrid start to the season and are effectively battling it out with the Coyotes, Blackhawks, and Ducks for the No. 1 overall pick in 2023. That pick will almost certainly be Connor Bedard, who is touted as a franchise-altering talent. With Jenner sidelined for a month, the Blue Jackets' woes will continue, and the prospect of adding Bedard via the draft could have Columbus thinking about throwing in the towel.
This season, Boone Jenner has recorded 22 points in 30 games, with 11 goals and 11 assists on the year. He's second on the team in points behind offseason acquisition Johnny Gaudreau, who leads Columbus with 30. Patrik Laine, who's been injured for much of the season, is in third with 15 points in 17 games.
A future top line of Gaudreau, Bedard, and Laine would certainly be intriguing for the Blue Jackets, and with 2022-23 looking like a lost cause, they could majorly expedite their rebuild by securing the shifty 17-year-old in the draft.
Follow Us
Subscribe