Columbus Blue Jackets await assessment on Damon Severson injury
Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Damon Severson will have an upper-body injury sustained in Montreal further evaluated in Columbus.
The Blue Jackets may be facing a new challenge with 10 games remaining. Damon Severson , who's most recently skated as Zach Werenski's partner on the top defensive pairing, left with 8:21 remaining after sustaining an upper-body injury in the third period of a 2-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on March 26 at Bell Centre in Montreal. More Blue Jackets news: Columbus Blue Jackets can't convert vs Montreal Canadiens: Takeaways After spotting Canadiens forward Zachary Bolduc in the left-wing corner of the Blue Jackets' zone, Severson lined him up for a shoulder-to-shoulder hit and immediately recoiled.
He left the ice shortly afterward for medical treatment and didn't return. "We'll get an update on him later," Blue Jackets coach Rick Bowness said during a press conference shown on FanDuel Sports Network. "Obviously, it's an upper-body injury and we'll get an update on him, but he's a big part of our team.
He scored a great goal for us tonight, and hopefully it's not as bad as, you know, we'll see what it looks like. " Severson is having his best overall season since signing an eight-year, $50 million contract as part of a sign-and-trade pact on June 29, 2023, with the New Jersey Devils. Severson's eighth goal of the season tied it 1-1 shortly after Jayden Struble gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead in the first period.
More on Damon Severson: Blue Jackets add defenseman Damon Severson from the Devils in sign-and-trade deal Severson also has 24 assists for a total of 32 points to go with a career-high +18 plus/minus after finishing last season as a healthy scratch under former coach Dean Evason . Replacing Severson will be difficult if he's sidelined, but Ivan Provorov, Denton Mateychuk, Dante Fabbro and Erik Gudbranson have all skated with Werenski. Even while playing next to several different teammates, Werenski leads the team in scoring with 77 points (21 goals, 56 assists) and is putting together another bid to win the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman.