The captaincy of Boone Jenner has yet seen the Columbus Blue Jackets reach the playoffs, but he has been productive himself as a top-line center, averaging over a 30 goal pace since 2021. The flip side of that is that each season was cut short by injuries or personal issues (i.e. the tragic loss of his firstborn last spring).
This season was the reverse, with the year starting with an injury. While also coping with the loss of teammate, friend, and neighbor Johnny Gaudreau, Jenner injured his shoulder while sliding into the boards in practice between the end of preseason and the start of the regular season. The injury required surgery and he was expected to miss six months. In the meantime, the Blue Jackets put together a surprisingly competitive season in his absence.
By the end of January, the writers here were debating just how Jenner would fit on the roster when he returned. He beat the timeline and made his return immediately after the 4 Nations Faceoff break, with a few games to get acclimated before the Stadium Series game at Ohio Stadium. Jenner showed no signs of rust as he scored in the first four games back in the lineup, and was able to move back to center due to injuries to both Sean Monahan and Cole Sillinger.
2024-25 Stats
Games: 26
Goals: 7
Assists: 12
Points: 19
Plus/Minus: +3
PIM: 4
5v5 Corsi %: 52.2
5v5 Fenwick %: 51.6
5v5 O-Zone Start %: 50.8
Contract
Jenner signed an early extension in July 2021, a few months before he was named captain. He has a cap hit of just $3.75M, which is a steal for a guy who can play first line center and can score at a 30 goal pace. He has one year remaining on that contract, and will be 33 when that expires next July.
High Point
Seven points in four games upon returning from injury is pretty good, including 5 assists in two games vs. Detroit to leapfrog them in the playoff race.
Second place is a two-goal/three-point effort in a shootout win over Vancouver in late March, as part of the start of a late-season surge to stay alive in the playoff race.
Low Point
The greatest ability is availability and Jenner has continuously fallen short there throughout his career. He did play full seasons in 2015-16, 2016-17, and 2019-20, but has missed 10 or more games in 8 of his 12 seasons. No one can question his heart, so I’m sure it burned him to be on the sidelines for the first four months of the season. Credit to him for a) returning to the lineup on the early end of the recovery timeline, and b) contributing immediately.
Report Card
Incomplete?
19 points in 26 games is very, very good. That should be at least a B+, yeah? On the other hand, just playing 26 games is a small sample size. So, how do you rate Jenner’s season?