The Blue Jackets announced they’ve activated captain Boone Jenner from injured reserve, paving the way for him to return to the lineup tonight against the Senators as expected. Center Luca Del Bel Belluz was returned to AHL Cleveland in the corresponding move.
Jenner, 32, hasn’t played in exactly a month. He’s missed 14 games with an upper-body injury he sustained Nov. 11 against the Kraken. That news was initially of particular concern after Jenner missed the first several months of last season following shoulder surgery, but this injury ended up being unrelated.
Without their captain, the Jackets have treaded water with a 5-4-5 record. Even with collecting so many overtime/shootout losses, that hasn’t been enough to help them keep pace in the Eastern Conference playoff race. With sluggish contenders like the Panthers and Maple Leafs turning around their poor starts, Columbus’ 13-11-6 record has them third-last in the conference – although still well within reach of a playoff spot. While they have several teams to leapfrog, they’re only three points back of the Flyers for a wild-card spot and still have a respectable 20.9% chance of returning to the dance for the first time since 2020, per MoneyPuck.
Jenner will need to be a big part of that the rest of the way. The lifelong Jacket has been in something of a shooting slump since returning from his shoulder injury last year, finishing at a 9.8% clip. With 29 points in 42 games since then, though, his overall point production has remained a good bit above his career average. He’s got a 3-7–10 scoring line in 16 games this season, placing him sixth on the team at 0.63 points per game.
A natural center, Columbus has shifted Jenner to the wing as multiple young pivots come down the pike. He’s spent most of his time in the lineup flanking Adam Fantilli, usually with Kent Johnson on the opposite flank. They didn’t have great chemistry. Their 42.1% share of expected goals and 2.58 xGF/60 are the lowest among the Jackets’ five forward lines with at least 50 minutes together. Nonetheless, that trio is staying together in his return to the lineup, per Jeff Svoboda of NHL.com.
Del Bel Belluz’s second recall of the season draws to an end after nine days. He was summoned from Cleveland on an emergency basis on Dec. 2 after Mathieu Olivier landed on IR. With his presence on the roster no longer required to give Columbus 12 healthy forwards, they either had to return him to the AHL or shift his recall into a standard one.
In the last four games, the 22-year-old was a virtual non-factor. He had no points and an even rating while averaging 8:10 of ice time per game, going 8-for-19 on draws (42.1%) with five blocks. Limited ice time isn’t the best use of the 2022 second-round pick’s development. He’s done well when placed higher up in Columbus’ lineup before, posting eight points in 15 games last season when elevated into top-nine duties, but with his all-around ceiling not yet realized, it’s best to keep him in the minors until he’s fully ready to step into major minutes for the Jackets.
He’s likely not too far off from doing so. He’s operating at a point-per-game pace through 11 AHL contests after leading Cleveland with 27 goals in 61 games last year. They’ll continue to give him periodic check-ins at the NHL level to evaluate his game before he seriously competes for an opening-night job next fall.