Kent Johnson’s All-Around Abilities Makes Injury Absence More Profound to Blue Jackets – The Hockey Writers Columbus Blue Jackets Latest News, Analysis & More

The Columbus Blue Jackets’ current injury struggles are well-documented. Our Mark Scheig discussed a few of them and the updates provided by head coach Dean Evason earlier this week. The most recent player to find himself out for the foreseeable future is Kent Johnson, and with how much Evason relied on him in the first four games, he’s going to be a major loss for a team that has already lost plenty of key players. 

Prior to Johnson’s injury, which resulted from a collision with teammate James van Riemsdyk, the Blue Jackets were already going deep into their cupboards for talent. Captain Boone Jenner, Dmitri Voronkov, Justin Danforth, and Erik Gudbranson are all on the injured reserve at the moment, with Danforth likely to return in the near future. They’re not the only ones out with injuries though, as prospects Cayden Lindstrom, who was the fourth-overall pick in the 2024 Draft, Jordan Dumais, and Gavin Brindley also find themselves on the injured reserve.

Now with Johnson on the sidelines as well, the Blue Jackets lost a player whose importance to the team has quickly skyrocketed early this season. He’s been a key member of both the power play and penalty kill, now Evason will have to reach even further into the cupboard to find a replacement and it seems like he’ll need someone else to fill Johnson’s role for a considerable amount of time.

An Offensive Threat 

Coming out of his draft year, everyone knew that Johnson would be a menace offensively at the NHL level relatively quickly. Following his collegiate stint with the University of Michigan of the NCAA, he immediately made an impact with the Blue Jackets during his rookie season. During that season, he put up 40 points, 16 of which were goals, in 79 games. 

Similar to a few other Blue Jackets who have broken into the NHL in recent memory, Johnson had a sophomore slump that was cut short by a shoulder injury. During the 2023-24 season, he only played in 42 games and put up a disappointing total of 16 points. Since the new coaching staff took over though, he’s seemed back on track. Prior to his injury, he had two goals and three assists in four games. He was keeping up with the team’s top performers like Yegor Chinakhov, Kirill Marchenko, and the newly acquired Sean Monahan. His offensive presence will certainly be missed by the Blue Jackets until he’s cleared to return. 

New Responsibilities 

Under Evason, Johnson has gotten even more responsibilities. As a player who was never really known for his defensive game, he previously wasn’t thought of as a penalty killer. Under the new coaching staff though, they saw something they liked out of the 22-year-old and threw him into an entirely new role for the 2024-25 season. He thrived in the role, despite the fact that the team as a whole was struggling to kill the opposition’s power plays. 

Related: 3 Blue Jackets’ Trends Needed to Overcome Recent Injuries

Losing a key member of both the powerplay and penalty kill makes it much more difficult for the Blue Jackets to manage their lineup moving forward. The only injuries that are similar in importance at the moment will be those of Jenner and Voronkov, who are also key players who may not see the ice in the near future.

While Johnson’s injury in the 2023-24 season was certainly not ideal for the Blue Jackets, he’s quickly become much more important to the organization as a whole with his increased responsibility both offensively and defensively. He was expected to help fill the hole left by Jenner and Voronkov until they could make their respective returns, but now he’s on the sidelines himself with no expected return date.