The Blue Jackets can have left winger Dmitri Voronkov within the lineup for the primary time this season Friday in opposition to the Jets as he makes his return from an upper-body harm, head coach Dean Evason instructed reporters (together with the crew’s Jeff Svoboda). He’ll be activated from injured reserve, however with ample cap house and an open roster spot, no corresponding transaction is critical.
Voronkov, 24, had his begin to his sophomore NHL season delayed when he sustained the harm late in Columbus’ preseason schedule in opposition to the Penguins. The preliminary prognosis wasn’t good, however it shortly grew to become obvious that Voronkov wouldn’t require surgical procedure to deal with the difficulty and could be again in weeks, not months. He returned to observe late final week, so he’s had a little bit of run-up earlier than re-entering the lineup.
It’s a legitimately impactful bit of reports for the Blue Jackets, who’ve gained two in a row and are actually in wild-card place early on with a 5-3-1 document by way of 9 video games. Their offense clicking at a top-10 price with 3.89 objectives per sport has a lot to do with that, and Voronkov’s return ought to solely assist them in that regard. The 2019 fourth-round decide arrived in North America final season after spending the prior 5 years with Ak Bars Kazan of Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League. He made a right away affect in a middle-six function, ending fifth on the crew in scoring with 34 factors (18 G, 16 A) in 75 video games. With Voronkov on the ice at even energy, Columbus managed 50.4% of shot makes an attempt and 52.2% of anticipated objectives, significantly above crew averages.
Evason stated that his return will ship late-offseason pickup Kevin Labanc to the press field. Signed to a one-year league-minimum pact after being launched from his skilled tryout with the Devils, the 28-year-old had factors in 4 of his final 5 video games and 5 assists in seven video games general with a +3 ranking. Nonetheless, it’ll be his third wholesome scratch of the younger season.
Voronkov is a pending restricted free agent. He’s within the remaining season of his entry-level contract, which earned him a $92.5K signing bonus over the summer season and pays him a base wage of $832.5K this season for a cap hit of $925K. He’ll be eligible for arbitration.
