The Columbus Blue Jackets didn’t make the Stanley Cup Playoffs a year ago, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t competitive, as the team seemingly took some steps in the right direction towards being post-season contenders.
While they may not be expected to dominate in 2026/27, in a wide open Metropolitan Division, absolutely anything could happen, and on Thursday, their new campaign officially gets started. Unfortunately, ahead of the game, Head Coach Rick Bowness has announced some unfortunate news on one of their key veterans, a blow that could significantly impact them early in the year.
Ivan Provorov Officially Labelled ‘Week-to-Week’
Heading into the new season, Provorov was dealing with an injury, and with their season opener on Thursday set against the Buffalo Sabres, the team were fearing that the veteran defenseman would miss time.
That was confirmed on Thursday by Head Coach Rick Bowness, who revealed that Provorov will be ‘week-to-week’ moving forward, as he is set to miss a game (for non-Covid related reasons) for the first time in his career in the National Hockey League.
“He’s heartbroken,” Bowness said. “Absolutely heartbroken.”
“He’s heartbroken,” Bowness said. “Absolutely heartbroken.”
Unfortunately, it won’t just be one game, as Provorov will be missing several weeks of action, and while it’s likely not an injury that will cost him months of action, he’s going to be a big loss for a Blue Jackets team that was hoping to get off to a fast start in 2026/27. It’s not clear as of right now just how long Provorov will be missing, but given what he brings both on and off the ice, any game missed by the 29-year-old who has 33, 32 and 31 points in three seasons with Columbus will be a major blow.
Can the Blue Jackets Make the Post-Season in 2026/27?
Without Provorov healthy, the Blue Jackets top-four has plenty of question marks beyond the reigning Norris Trophy winner Zach Werenski, with the other three players being Erik Gudbranson, Jake Christiansen and Denton Mateychuk, all of whom either aren’t experienced enough or seemingly aren’t good enough to be a top-four d-man on a contending team.
However, there’s still plenty of young talent on this team, with the likes of Matthew Knies, Adam Fantilli, Cole Sillinger and Kent Johnson all starring up front for Columbus, and if they can all have career years, this is a team that has plenty of potential, especially with Jet Greaves in net.
On paper, this team isn’t as good as Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington, New Jersey or Carolina in the Metropolitan Division, but with a blend of youth and experience on the ice and Rick Bowness behind the bench, if Provorov can limit the games he misses in the next few weeks, this is a team that could surprise many this season.
Blue Jackets Suffer Major Loss Ahead of the 2026/27 Season Opener