Blue Jackets activate key offseason acquisition from IR

The Blue Jackets will welcome a key defenseman back for their game Saturday against Toronto, but they’re also losing a blue-liner. The team announced that Damon Severson has been activated off injured reserve. To make room on the roster, Nick Blankenburg has been placed on IR retroactive to Dec. 19.

Severson was a key addition for Columbus over the summer, which acquired him in a sign-and-trade deal from New Jersey on an eight-year, $50M contract.  Despite the Blue Jackets’ struggles, Severson got off to a decent start with his new team, recording three goals and five assists in his first 19 games with the team while averaging just under 21 minutes per night before suffering a strained oblique roughly five weeks ago that caused him to miss the last 15 games. He’ll slot right back into the top four versus the Maple Leafs and should see time on both the power play and penalty kill as well.

As for Blankenburg, the 25-year-old has spent most of the season in the minors with AHL Cleveland in his final season of waiver exemption and has three goals and eight assists in 19 games with the Monsters. He was recalled earlier this month and saw action in six games, where he was held off the scoresheet while averaging just under 18 minutes per contest. Blankenburg is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury, and with the placement being back-dated, he could be activated as soon as Wednesday’s game against New Jersey.