The news goes from bad to worse for the Columbus Blue Jackets. If it wasn’t enough that the team found out from star defenseman Seth Jones that he won’t be signing an extension with the team this season, now they don’t know how much use they’ll get out of forward Max Domi. Domi has undergone surgery to repair a labral tear of his right shoulder. He’s expected to be sidelined 5-6 months.
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As Chris Johnston reports, the timeline on his recovery means Domi will miss the start of the 2021-22 NHL season.
“Max had been experiencing some discomfort in his shoulder, which he brought to our attention last week and a subsequent examination revealed a labral tear,” Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen said in a release. “It was determined that surgery was the best course of action and we look forward to Max’s return early next season.” The nagging injury could partially explain why Domi wasn’t as productive a player as the Blue Jackets were hoping when they acquired him in a trade from the Montreal Canadiens for Josh Anderson. Domi, 26, had nine goals and 24 points in 54 games for Columbus this past season.
As Aaron Portzline of The Athletic points out, this is the same surgery that Blue Jackets forward Gustav Nyquist underwent in November, causing him to miss the entire season. Again, Domi will miss at least the first month of the 2021-22 campaign.
Changes Coming to the Blue Jackets
One of the things this injury might do is keep Domi a Blue Jackets player throughout the offseason. It wasn’t so much that his name was being mentioned in trade rumors, but there are expected to be some big changes to the team as they look to rebound under new Team President John Davidson.
Jones could be traded, there’s talk surrounding Patrik Laine and Domi was often in the coach’s doghouse throughout the 2020-21 campaign. If the team is going to trade the player, it’s unlikely another club will look to acquire him until they know how he’ll rebound from his surgery.
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