Columbus Blue Jackets injury update: Seth Jones out four to six weeks

The bad news continues for the Columbus Blue Jackets, as their Norris Trophy contending defenseman Seth Jones will miss four to six weeks with an MCL sprain.

Going into this season, the Columbus Blue Jackets are a team who are focused on winning now rather than later. With arguably their two best players set to become free agents after the 2018-19 season, they’re looking to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. That journey just got a bit more difficult, unfortunately. On Tuesday, Sep. 25, star defenseman Seth Jones had to leave a game against the Buffalo Sabres.

He did not return. Jones got an MRI and it turns out he suffered a second-degree sprain of his medial collateral ligament, more commonly known as the MCL. He will likely miss somewhere between four to six weeks.

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While it certainly could have been worse for the Blue Jackets, this isn’t good for them at all. Jones is their top defenseman and he finished fourth in the Norris Trophy voting last season. He finished second on the team last season with a career-high 57 points and 41 assists. In addition, Jones scored a career-high 16 goals.

During the 2017-18 postseason, he picked up a goal and four assists for five points in six games. Jones averaged 24:36 of ice time per game, the highest average among Blue Jackets skaters.

A Crippling Blow

Anytime you lose your top defenseman, it’s never a good thing. And it certainly isn’t for the Blue Jackets. Their top pairing of Jones and Zach Werenski was supposed to be a huge strength for them. Arguably their greatest one, in fact.

Suddenly, the Blue Jackets won’t get that top pairing until at least late October. Werenski has yet to play in the preseason, though he hopes to play on Friday. He’s recovering for an offseason shoulder surgery.

How Do The Blue Jackets Replace Him?

Here’s the thing – you don’t replace a guy like Jones. You merely hope to find someone who can tread water. It’s hard to predict who will play with Werenski on the Blue Jackets top pairing because Werenski and Jones were about as close to Siamese twins as a defensive pairing can get.

At five-on-five last season, they played over 1,240 minutes together. Werenski spent a shade over 122 minutes away from Jones. This was the case during the 2016-17 season as well. David Savard is second on the Blue Jackets’ depth chart among right-handed defenseman, so it’s likely he’ll get the nod.

However, with Ryan Murray also injured, it remains to be seen who will replace Savard on the second pairing in that scenario. Adam Clendening is another right-handed option for them who might have to be in the lineup until Jones comes back.

The Blue Jackets probably have the depth to tread water even without their Norris Trophy contender. But it’s a big loss regardless for a team under a ton of pressure to start the season.