Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Erik Gudbranson underwent successful surgery on Monday, October 21, to repair an injured shoulder, club President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Don Waddell announced today. Gudbranson suffered the injury on October 15 vs. Florida and was placed on injured reserve on October 16.
“Erik had successful shoulder surgery on Monday and is expected to make a full recovery,” said Waddell. “While he will miss a significant amount of time, we know he will work extremely hard during his rehab and will continue to be an important part of our leadership group.”
Gudbranson, 32, has registered 34 goals and 99 assists for 133 points with 841 penalty minutes in 792 career games with the Blue Jackets, Calgary Flames, Nashville Predators, Ottawa Senators, Anaheim Ducks, Pittsburgh Penguins, Vancouver Canucks and Florida Panthers. He joined the Blue Jackets prior to the 2022-23 season and has collected 7-32-39 and 133 penalty minutes in 151 games with the club. The 6-5, 222-pound native of Ottawa, Ontario was selected by Florida in the first round, third overall, at the 2010 NHL Draft.
Columbus returns to action tonight when the club hosts the Toronto Maple Leafs at Nationwide Arena. Game time is 7:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage on FanDuel Sports Network begins with the Blue Jackets Live pre-game show starting at 7 p.m. ET. The game will also be heard on the Blue Jackets Radio Network, including Sports Radio 97.1 The Fan in Columbus, and online at BlueJackets.com.