The Blue Jackets practiced Monday with 21 skaters and two goals, which appeared to be the 23-man roster they'd use to start this season.
Instead, Blue Jackets president of hockey operations/general manager Don Waddell had another move in the hopper. Still looking for proven NHL forwards, he claimed forward Zach Aston-Reese off waivers from the Vegas Golden Knights, adding another veteran forward to go with his signing of James van Riemsdyk before training camp and Kevin Labanc on Saturday — both on one-year contracts worth less than $1 million.
“Zach Aston-Reese is a smart and versatile player that can play any of the forward positions,” Waddell said in a statement. “He brings over 300 games of NHL experience to our lineup and will provide additional depth to our group up front.”
The Blue Jackets lost experience, depth and a lot of size last week within a 14-hour span thanks to two upper-body injuries to power forward Dmitry Voronkov and captain Boone Jenner . Voronkov played only 15 seconds against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday , leaving after an awkward collision with Sam Poulin. Jenner was injured the next day, crashing hard into the boards at practice during a “small area” drill.
Voronkov isn't expected to need surgery, but Jenner is consulting a specialist for a second opinion that could lead to a surgical procedure. Both forwards join Justin Danforth (wrist) on injured reserve, leaving the Blue Jackets with three holes in the lineup they hoped to ice prior to camp. Jenner and Voronkov were "top nine" forwards and each played in front of the net for separate power-play units.
Jenner was also skating at left wing on the top line in a spot vacated by the tragedy that took the life of Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew. Voronkov, who scored 18 goals as a rookie last season, skated most recently on the left side of the third line with Cole Sillinger and Kent Johnson.
“It sucks,” Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason said. “Is it a downer? I don’t know. It’s an opportunity for other guys to step up. Do we want Boone and ‘Vronny’ in our lineup? Yeah, of course, but there’s nothing we can do about it now, and we had a good chat with the group this morning about that. Boone had a little chat with the group, too, after (the coaches). We just move forward. We’ve got to turn everything, as much as we can, into a positive.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets claim NHL forward Zach Aston-Reese from Vegas Golden Knights
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