The Columbus Blue Jackets have placed forward Kent Johnson on Injured Reserve and added goaltender Jet Greaves to the roster on emergency recall from the Cleveland Monsters, the team’s American Hockey League affiliate, the club announced today. Johnson is expected to have surgery later this week to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder and will miss the rest of the 2023-24 season. Greaves is being added to the roster as goaltender Elvis Merzlikins is day-to-day with an upper body injury.
Johnson, 21, suffered the injury in a game at the New York Rangers on February 28. The 6-0, 178-pound Port Moody, British Columbia native collected six goals and 10 assists for 16 points with 10 penalty minutes in 42 games this season and has registered 22-37-59 and 26 PIM in 130 career games with Columbus. The club’s first first-round pick, fifth overall, at the 2021 NHL Draft was one of the league’s top rookie scorers in 2022-23 as he notched 16-24-40 with 14 PIM in 79 games. He tallied 0-3-3 in nine games after making his NHL debut late in the 2021-22 campaign.
Johnson played two seasons at the University of Michigan from 2020-22, collecting 17-47-64 in 58 games, earning Big Ten All-Freshman Team honors in 2020-21 and helping the Wolverines advance to the Frozen Four in 2021-22. He also represented Canada at the 2022 Olympic Games (1-4-5 in 5 GP), 2022 IIHF World Championships (4-3-7 in 10 GP) and 2022 IIHF World Junior Championships (1-0-1 in 2 GP in Winter tournament/3-6-9 in 7 GP in Summer tournament).
Greaves, 22, has posted a 1-2-0 record with a 2.70 goals-against average (GAA), .936 save percentage (SV%) and has stopped 118-of-126 shots faced in three career games with the Blue Jackets since making his NHL debut on Apr. 4, 2023 at Toronto. The 6-0, 191-pound netminder is 1-1-0 with a 2.52 GAA and .935 SV% in two games this season, including setting a franchise record for most saves in a netminder’s first career win after turning aside 41-of-43 shots in a 5-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues on December 8.
The Cambridge, Ontario native has gone 56-37-14 with a 2.95 GAA, .904 SV% and four shutouts in 109 career AHL games with the Monsters since making his pro debut in 2021-22. He is 25-9-3 with a 2.88 GAA, .910 SV% and one shutout in 37 outings this season. Selected to play in his first AHL All-Star Game, he leads all league goaltenders in wins and saves (1,056) in 2023-24. The 6-0, 191-pound netminder was originally signed by the Blue Jackets to a three-year, entry level contract on Feb. 20, 2022.
The Blue Jackets return to action on Monday when they host the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights. Game time from Nationwide Arena is 7 p.m. ET. Live coverage on Bally Sports Ohio, Bally Sports + and the Bally Sports app begins at 6:30 p.m. ET. The game will also be heard on the Blue Jackets Radio Network, including 97.1 The Fan in Columbus, and online at BlueJackets.com.
