Columbus Blue Jackets Captain Boone Jenner Undergoes Shoulder Surgery

Boone Jenner, the captain of the Columbus Blue Jackets, may potentially miss the remainder of the National Hockey League’s 2024 season following shoulder surgery conducted on Wednesday. The 31-year-old forward suffered the injury during a practice session on October 4, as reported by the team.

“These things are probably 5-6 months,” stated Don Waddell, the general manager of the Blue Jackets. “Every individual is different. Five months puts you right at the beginning of March. Just see how it all plays out here in the next few months.”

Waddell described Jenner as not only a valuable player but also a respected leader within the team. “Boone’s not only a good player for us, but a good leader. He’ll still be around, of course. Really freaky accident that happened in practice. Not much to say about it. Surgery went very well. [He’ll] start his rehab immediately.”

Jenner was appointed captain of the Blue Jackets on October 12, 2021. Under his leadership, the team has awarded alternate captain positions to defensemen and a forward the following season.

Waddell expressed the collective disappointment felt by the club. “It’s disappointing,” Waddell noted. “We’re all disappointed. We’re more disappointed for Boone. The team will continue to rally together. We’ve been thrown a few curveballs, but we’ll continue to rally. It’s going to give opportunities for other players. You like to find out what you have, not this way, but it is what it is. We give some of the young guys more opportunity and hopefully they can respond with it.”

Last season, Jenner recorded 35 points, which included 22 goals and 13 assists, in 58 games played. He stands as the franchise leader in games played at 715 and holds the third position in goals with 192 and points with 364, having been selected by Columbus as the 37th overall pick in the 2011 NHL Draft.

In other team updates, forward Dmitri Voronkov is anticipated to return by the end of November. The 24-year-old suffered an upper-body injury during a 3-1 preseason match against the Pittsburgh Penguins on October 3 but will not require surgery.

The Columbus Blue Jackets are set to commence their regular season with an away game against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday.

NHL.com independent correspondent Jessi Pierce contributed to this report.