Metro Notes: Jenner, Smith, Frasca

Some good news came to the Columbus Blue Jackets this afternoon by way of Aaron Portzline of The Athletic who is reporting that captain Boone Jenner will be making his return to the lineup on Friday night. One of the better offensive players on the Blue Jackets’ roster, Jenner has been out since December 8th with a broken jaw.

It will be a major reinforcement for Columbus, a team that has seen injuries to other major players such as Patrik Laine and Zach Werenski for much of the season. The reintroduction of Jenner onto the roster will bring a player who has scored 13 goals in 28 games already for the Blue Jackets this season, still good for second on the team in goal-scoring even after being out for over a month.

If Columbus continues to fall in the standings, Jenner could become one of the more intriguing trade deadline options for many competitive teams. Signed for two more years beyond this one, the Blue Jackets shouldn’t feel rushed to move their captain, but his ability to play on both sides of the puck, his relatively cheap contract and his obvious leadership ability could be coveted by a plethora of teams come March.

Other notes:

• Another team in the Metropolitan Division that has dealt with several injuries this year would be none other than the New Jersey Devils. Earlier today, the team was dealt more unfortunate news, as team reporter Amanda Stein reported that defenseman Brendan Smith is out with a sprained knee. As of now, the timeline for Smith is unclear, but the team will likely utilize recently recalled Callan Foote to serve in Smith’s stead.
• In a minor league transaction, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins announced that their NHL affiliate, the Pittsburgh Penguins, had reassigned forward Jordan Frasca back to the organization’s ECHL affiliate, the Wheeling Nailers. Frasca went scoreless in his three-game stint in Wilkes-Barre but has already scored nine goals and 24 points in 25 games for the Nailers this season.