Columbus Blue Jackets centre Sean Monahan of Brampton, Ontario is expected to be out six to eight additional weeks with a wrist injury according to Elliotte Friedman of Rogers Sportsnet. The ailment is a significant loss to a Blue Jackets team that is in the playoff hunt in the Eastern Conference.
How did Monahan get hurt?
Monahan injured his wrist after being a recipient of a bodycheck by Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang on January 7 in a 4-3 Blue Jackets shootout win over the Penguins at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania according to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic.
Monahan played 13 shifts and 12 minutes and 26 seconds worth of ice time before the injury. He had one power play assist, was a -1 and two shots on goal. Monahan’s power-play assist came on a goal by Dmitri Voronkov of Angarsk, Russia. Kent Johnson of Port Moody, British Columbia and Kirill Marchenko of Barnaul, Russia had the two shootout goals for Columbus.
Monahan in 2024-25
Monahan is averaging exactly a point per game this season. It is the first time he has been averaging a point per game in a season in six years. Monahan had 34 goals and 48 assists for 82 points in 78 games with the Calgary Flames in 2018-19. This season in Columbus, Monahan has 14 goals and 27 assists for 41 points in 41 games. He is a +17 with 14 penalty minutes, nine power-play points, two shorthanded points, two game-winning goals, 106 shots on goal, 456 faceoff wins, 24 blocked shots, 18 hits, eight takeaways, and 41 giveaways.
The shorthanded points came in Blue Jackets’s wins. The first was on November 21, 2024 in a 7-6 Blue Jackets win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Monahan assisted on a goal by Johnson at 10:39 of the third period to put Columbus up 6-5. The second was on January 4 in a 6-4 Blue Jackets win over the St. Louis Blues. Monahan assisted on a goal by Mikael Pyyhtia of Turku, Finland at 3:34 of the third period and put Columbus up 3-0 at the time.
Monahan’s first game-winning goal this season came on December 19 in a 4-2 Blue Jackets win over the New Jersey Devils. Monahan scored from Voronkov and Marchenko at 13:58 of the second period and put Columbus up 3-0. Monahan’s second game-winning goal this season came on December 27 in a 6-2 Blue Jackets win over the Boston Bruins. Monahan scored from defensemen Zach Werenski of Grosse Pointe, Michigan and Dante Fabbro of Coquitlam, British Columbia, and put the Blue Jackets up 3-1 at 8:13 of the second period.
In a playoff spot
The Blue Jackets are at 24 wins, 19 regulation losses and seven losses in extra time. They have 55 points and are in ninth place in the Eastern Conference.
