Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Dean Evason confirmed Saturday morning that forward Kent Johnson’s injury is “not short term.” These comments come after Johnson took an awkward fall on Thursday (Oct. 17) against the Buffalo Sabres after tallying just 6:26 of ice time.
#CBJ coach Dean Evason won’t provide a timeline on injured Kent Johnson, but would say this: “It’s not short term.”
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) October 19, 2024
This is another crucial loss to a Blue Jackets forward core that has already lost Boone Jenner, Gavin Brindley, and Dmitri Voronkov to injuries. Johnson, who just turned 22 on Oct. 18, had tallied five points (two goals, three assists) in four games this season. His strong start follows a disappointing 2023-24 campaign, where he managed only 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in 42 NHL games, along with 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in 10 games at the American Hockey League level.
Speaking of the injuries, Evason stated “For sure, there’s an element of, ‘What the heck’s going on?’… On the other side of it, there’s not a thing we can do about it. What are we going to do, ask our guys never to get close to each other [on the ice]? Boone [Jenner] gets hurt in practice. Do we ask them not to work hard, not to play hard? It happens. Are we disappointed that we don’t have some people in our lineup? Sure, but… we conduct ourselves the same regardless of who’s in our lineup.”
Due to Johnson’s injury, young Blue Jackets forwards Cole Sillinger and Kirill Marchenko may see increased ice time. Although Johnson hasn’t been officially placed on injured reserve, that is currently expected.
