Werenski Out For Blue Jackets, Jiricek Called Up

The luck with injuries for Zach Werenski and the Columbus Blue Jackets is horrible. The team's top defenseman missed the majority of last season with an injury, and after taking all that time to heal up and get ready for this season, he's injured in the Blue Jackets' first game of the season. The injury came when Garnett Hathaway had a knee on knee collision with Werenski and the verdict is that the Blue Jackets' defenseman will be out 1-2 weeks after being placed on the injured reserve.

News: #CBJ places Zach Werenski on injured reserve. Out 1-2 weeks. David Jiricek has been called up.
— Mark Scheig (@mark_scheig) October 13, 2023

While some may have thought that top defensive prospect David Jiricek would start the season with the Blue Jackets, the reality is that he is still young, exempt from waivers, and there is a lot of competition for spots on the back-end this season without a trade being executed yet. It's a good sign that he is the first called up and there is also the option that the Blue Jackets will be going with 11 forwards and seven defense in their next game to fit Jiricek in.

Werenski's injury is a big loss for the Blue Jackets and might worry fans that the team will suffer the same fate as last season, having a ton of man games lost. This injury doesn't appear as serious as Werenski's last season and there are a lot of good defensemen to fill in for now.